Vegas Golden Knights, Robin Lehner Agree To Five-Year Extension
As anticipated for nearly a month now, the Vegas Golden Knights and goaltender Robin Lehner have agreed to a five-year, $25MM contract extension. The deal has been officially announced with plenty of social media fanfare in typical Knights fashion. Lehner would have been a free agent and highly sought-after commodity when the market opened next Friday, but instead will stay in Las Vegas. PuckPedia reports that the deal breaks down as follows:
2020-21: $1MM salary, $2MM signing bonus, eight-team NTC
2021-22: $5MM salary, eight-team NTC
2022-23: $6.5MM salary, eight-team NTC
2023-24: $6MM salary, five-team NTC
2024-25: $4.5MM salary, five-team NTC
This new deal is a win-win for both sides. Despite playing at an elite level for the past three seasons, Lehner has only landed one-year contracts and played for fours different team in that span. His goal has always been to find a long-term home and his fit with Vegas has been obvious. At a $5MM AAV, this deal may not be at the top of Lehner’s potential market value, but it provides him with security and the chance to compete for a Stanley Cup each year. As for the Knights, goaltending was not considered a major area of need when the team acquired Lehner at the trade deadline as the intended backup to Marc-Andre Fleury, but it would have become an issue down the road as the 35-year-old Fleury neared the end of his contract with his play continuing to slip. Vegas has merely solved their problem in net before it had a chance to occur. Of course, Fleury’s days with the team are now numbered as Vegas likely cannot afford to keep both goalies, even at a very fair price for Lehner. With limited cap space this off-season, the Golden Knights will have to move their veteran keeper and officially hand the starting job to Lehner.
The other player impacted by this deal is UFA-to-be Jacob Markstrom. With the 29-year-old Lehner off the market, the 30-year-old Markstrom is now the clear-cut best available free agent goalie and will see an increase in his leverage to command a term and salary that could come in higher than Lehner’s.
TSN’s Frank Seravalli was to the first to report that the deal had been agreed upon to earlier today.
Pittsburgh Penguins Extend Tristan Jarry
A busy morning for goalie deals continues. The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced a new three-year, $10.5MM contract with young keeper Tristan Jarry. The extension, which buys out one UFA year, keeps the 25-year-old restricted free agent under contract through the 2022-23 season at an AAV of $3.5MM. CapFriendly reports that the deal breaks down as follows:
2020-21: $2.5MM
2021-22: $3.5MM
2022-23: $4.5MM
If these numbers seem slightly familiar, they should. Matt Murray, the Penguins’ “goalie of the future” just three short years ago, signed a three-year, $3.75MM AAV contract when his entry-level deal expired. He earned the slight edge over Jarry given that he had more experience at the time and had helped the Penguins to two Stanley Cup titles, but the deal did not buy out any UFA years. Murray is now a restricted free agent as well, but the Penguins made it clear early on this off-season that they would move forward with Jarry and that Murray is on the trade block. The cap-strapped club would love to keep both young goalies, but that does not appear to be in the cards, especially with the salary that Murray expects to command.
Of course, the decision was not just about money. Jarry was clearly the superior option this season, despite it being just his second season of regular NHL action. In a career-high 33 appearances, he set new personal bests with 20 wins, a 2.43 goals against average, and a .921 save percentage. His GAA and SV% ranked among the top ten goalies in the NHL and after a few roster changes the rookie even earned an All-Star nod. He was also stellar in his one playoff appearance this year, leaving many Pittsburgh fans to wonder why Murray got the majority of starts in the team’s qualifying round upset.
Jarry appears to be the real deal, but the Penguins are not done tweaking their situation in net. First, the team will need to find a taker for Murray, who the team will likely be forced to make a qualifying offer to by Wednesday’s deadline. Next, they will likely need to evaluate the veteran backup options on the free agent and trade markets. Jarry has still never even played half of an NHL season (41 games) in a year, never mind a starter’s load. AHLer Casey DeSmith has some experience at the top level, but might not be the best backup option next season given his lack of NHL starts as well. Look for the Penguins to stay involved in the goalie market as both buyers and sellers.
New York Rangers Buy Out Henrik Lundqvist
Sep 30: The Rangers have officially announced the buyout. Because of his no-movement clause, there was no need for unconditional waivers. In the press release, Rangers president John Davidson outlined some of the reasons Lundqvist meant so much to the city of New York:
We would like to thank Henrik for his immeasurable contributions to the New York Rangers. From the time I met Henrik when he first came to New York in 2005, he has been the consummate professional. His tireless work ethic, passion for the game, and love of the Rangers and New York City enabled him to become one of the greatest goaltenders in hockey and one of the best players in the history of our franchise. We all wish Henrik and his family the best going forward.
Sep 29: The end of an era is upon us. After 15 years of brilliant play in the New York net, the Rangers and decorated goaltender Henrik Lundqvist are set to part ways. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the Rangers will buy out the final year of Lundqvist’s contract, with an announcement expected on Wednesday. At 38, Lundqvist will be an unrestricted free agent for the very first time.
As Dreger explains, this was not an easy decision for New York. Few players have meant as much to a team in NHL history as Lundqvist has to the Rangers since 2005. The potential future Hall of Famer was a Vezina Trophy winner, a First-Team All-Star, and a wins leader, among many other honors in his long career. Lundqvist leads all active goaltenders in career games played, saves, shutouts, and goals saved above average, acting as a workhorse starter for the Blueshirts for much of his career. While he still has a chance to build on this reputation, it won’t be in New York. The team explored all options, but must move forward with young upstart keepers Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev, leaving no room on the roster for Lundqvist, especially at his high cap hit.
With just one year remaining on the seven-year, $59.5MM contract that Lundqvist signed back in 2013, the buyout will only impose penalties against the salary cap for two seasons. CapFriendly projects that Lundqvist’s $4.5MM base salary and $1MM signing bonus in this final year will count toward the salary cap in full for a total hit of $5.5MM in 2020-21. In 2021-22, the penalty will be just $1.5MM. The $3MMM in savings this season for the Rangers will give the team even more flexibility to re-sign their pending restricted free agents while also exploring the free agent market for additional help.
Lundqvist meanwhile will hit a free agent market that is already chock full of goalies, most of whom are not coming off the worst season of their careers. Quickly approaching 40 and in steep decline over the past four or five years, it is hard to imagine Lundqvist getting any more than a small, one-year contract to serve as a backup. However, the decorated netminder already has plenty of money and accolades. All he wants at this point in his career is to sign with a team that give him the one thing he doesn’t have: a Stanley Cup.
Tampa Bay Lightning Win 2020 Stanley Cup Championship
The Tampa Bay Lightning were crowned NHL champions and hoisted the Stanley Cup on Monday night with a 2-0 shutout win over the Dallas Stars in Game Six. This title feels as if it has been a long time coming for the Lightning, whose young core fell to the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2015 Cup Final and a few years later survived a heart-breaking first-round upset sweep at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets last season. With a flat salary cap set to blow up the roster this off-season, it almost seemed inevitable that this Lightning team would emerge victorious with the franchise’s second championship before the impressive group was torn apart. It also seems fitting that such a truly talented and title-worthy team will go down in history for winning the “bubble Cup”.
Tampa Bay won the Cup in style this postseason, too. The Bolts were one of just two teams to actually earn their regular season seeding in the round robin, entering the Eastern Conference playoffs as the No. 2 seed. Their path to victory first included vengeance against the Blue Jackets in a five-game series that included a historic five-overtime win in Game One and another overtime win to seal the series. Tampa then took on their greatest rival, the President’s Trophy-winning Boston Bruins, and made quick work of the talented team in five games, again clinching the series in extra time with a double-overtime victory. Next up were the New York Islanders, who had upset higher seeds in each of their first two series and had smother opposing defenses. The Isles couldn’t keep it going against the Lightning though, falling in six games with Tampa again winning the final game in overtime. Finally, the Stanley Cup Final arrived with a match-up against the Dallas Stars, who had defeated championship favorites Colorado and Vegas en route to the title bout. However, Dallas could not keep the upset streak going, with Tampa Bay taking the series in six games with a decisive shutout victory.
The Conn Smythe Trophy was a three-horse race on the Lightning side, with forwards Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov and defenseman Victor Hedman all playing at a historic level. It was the Hedman though who received the award for postseason MVP, due in no small part to his ten goals, third-most for a defenseman in postseason history. Hedman totaled 21 points while averaging more than 26 minutes per night of solid defense in an outstanding all-around effort. Kucherov logged more assists than anyone not named Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux in league history and led all postseason participants with 33 points, which would have been enough to take the Conn Smythe almost any other year. With 32 points, including a league-leading 13 goals, Point was also invaluable to the team’s success. Finally, no team can win the Cup without a stellar performance in goal, and Andrei Vasilevskiy played every minute for Tampa and led the playoffs in save percentage
Also deserving plenty of praise and recognition for this Stanley Cup victory are the NHL and NHLPA, who made the postseason possible in light of difficult circumstances. The Coronavirus pandemic shut down the league back in March and nearly five months later the league and players’ association were able to work together to put together an expanded playoff format that produced months of exciting playoff hockey. After 64 days in the bubble, across two cities, there were zero positive COVID tests, allowing for the postseason to proceed without a hitch. Without this expert oversight, there easily could have been no Stanley Cup champion this season. Hockey fans will never forget what the league and its players, especially those on the Tampa Bay Lightning, were able to accomplish in this incredible summer postseason.
Detroit Red Wings Acquire Marc Staal
Another Staal is on the move. Ten days after oldest brother Eric Staal was traded by the Minnesota Wild to the Buffalo Sabres, Marc Staal has been dealt to the Detroit Red Wings by the New York Rangers. Both teams have confirmed the trade, which will see Staal and a 2021 second-round pick go to Detroit in exchange for future considerations. This is a pure salary cap dump by the Rangers, who do not retain any salary in the trade.
Staal, 33, has only ever played for the Rangers after the team used the 12th overall pick to select him in 2005. While Staal has been a long-time stalwart for New York and even an All-Star at one point, his game has been on the decline for some time. Entering the final season of a six-year, $34.2MM contract, the Rangers have been trying to move Staal and his $5.7MM cap hit and have finally succeeded. It comes at the cost of a second-round draft pick, but will give the team much-needed flexibility to re-sign restricted free agent defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, a protégé of Staal’s, as well as RFA forwards Ryan Strome and Brendan Lemieux while maintaining the ability to improve elsewhere in free agency.
As for Detroit, this could merely be the beginning of GM Steve Yzerman weaponizing his cap space. The rebuilding Red Wings have several of their own restricted free agents to sign this off-season, but have more than enough room to work with given their projected $27.4MM in cap space. This allows Yzerman to essentially buy a high draft pick by taking on Staal’s contract, which counts for $5.7MM against the cap but is worth only $3.2MM in real dollars. Detroit now has three second-round picks in 2021 and 12 picks in the first three rounds over the next two drafts, with more surely on the way.
The one remaining question in this deal (other than the future considerations of course) is whether Staal actually plays for Detroit or not. While the young Red Wings could use his veteran presence, they already have Danny DeKeyser, Patrik Nemeth, and Dennis Cholowski on the left side and are expected to be a top suitor for UFA Torey Krug. This deal was about the second-rounder more than it was Staal, so the team could opt to buy out the remaining year of his contract and make him a free agent. Such a move would save the team just over $1MM in real dollars and over $2MM against the cap this year, with a cap penalty of about $1MM being tacked on in 2021-22. Detroit could also opt not to buy out Staal, but explore trading him with salary retained to try to recoup even more draft capital. Or Staal could simply play out his final season in Detroit. Only time will tell in this unpredictable off-season.
Ottawa Senators Buy Out Bobby Ryan
After clearing waivers on Saturday, the Senators announced that they have officially bought out the final two seasons of Bobby Ryan‘s contract. GM Pierre Dorion released the following statement on the move:
This was a decision that required a lot of consideration. Bobby’s long been a deserving fan favourite in Ottawa. While we’re appreciative of his efforts on the ice, it’s outweighed by how proud we are of him for the courage that he has demonstrated off of it. As we continue to take strides in our rebuild, this decision was one that we felt was best for the organization. We wish he and his family the best as he moves forward.
The Masterton Trophy winner had two years remaining on a seven-year, $50.75MM contract he signed back in 2014 ($7.25MM AAV). The buyout saves the Senators $3.67MM in each of the next two seasons, but apply a $1.83MM penalty for the following two. The full cap hit will now be as follows:
- 2020-21: $3,583,333
- 2021-22: $3,583,333
- 2022-23: $1.833,333
- 2023-24: $1,833,333
Ryan, 33, had been with the Senators since the 2013-14 season, scoring 107 goals and 266 points over 455 games. This year he suited up just 24 times, leaving the team for a chunk of the season to deal with his addiction problems. Upon his return, he provided one of the most emotional moments of the year when he notched a hat trick in his first game back in Ottawa.
Coming into the league as a dominant presence for the Anaheim Ducks, Ryan recorded 30 or more goals in four straight seasons, hitting a career-high of 71 points in 2010-11. His deteriorated play in recent years made this an easy choice for the Senators though, one that was even discussed in years prior as his goal totals fell. The simple fact was that he can no longer provide the kind of value required for a $7.25MM cap hit, especially as finances are tightened league-wide.
That said, Ryan now becomes an unrestricted free agent that is able to sign a new contract with whatever team he chooses. For a much lower cap hit, perhaps someone believes they can bring back some of his production. After all, Ryan did score four goals in eight games after returning from the Player Assistance Program.
For the Senators, it’s not so much about the cap space (as they have more than they’ll ever need) but the actual salary owed. Ryan was due $7.5MM in each of the remaining two seasons, a total of $15MM that will be reduced to $11.3MM after the buyout.
His removal from the roster will also provide more minutes for the young Senators core, a group that is actually quite impressive. Not only do they have one of the best prospect systems in the league already, but Ottawa also has seven picks in the first two rounds and thirteen overall this year.
TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report that Ryan’s deal was being bought out.
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Montreal Canadiens Extend Jeff Petry
The Montreal Canadiens have made a huge move just a few weeks before free agency opens, extending Jeff Petry for another four years. Petry was still under contract for the 2020-21 season but will now be locked up through 2024-25. The new deal is worth a total of $25MM, giving him a $6.25MM cap hit starting in 2021-22. It also includes a 15-team no-trade clause and a no-movement clause, meaning he will require automatic protection in the upcoming expansion draft. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet tweets the full breakdown:
- 2021-22: $5.0MM salary
- 2022-23: $3.0MM signing bonus + $4.5MM salary
- 2023-24: $3.0MM signing bonus + $4.5MM salary
- 2024-25: $2.0MM signing bonus + $3.0MM salary
Though he still doesn’t get quite the recognition of one, Petry has developed into one of the best two-way defensemen in the league over the last few years. In fact, his 128 points over the last three seasons put him 17th among all NHL defenders, while his 36 goals sit 11th over the same time period. Though he’ll never get the same type of press that teammate Shea Weber receives, Petry is almost equally important to the Canadiens and showed it this postseason.
The 32-year-old defenseman averaged more than 25 minutes a night as Montreal shocked the hockey world by defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in the qualification round and took the Philadelphia Flyers to six games. For a team that wasn’t even expecting to be included in the playoffs, their performance was admirable and as Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets, could have had a real impact on the uber-competitive Petry’s decision to remain.
There’s no doubt that Petry earned an extension with his play, but it’s not like this deal comes without a fair bit of risk for the team. Petry will turn 33 in December (likely before the 2020-21 campaign even begins), meaning this deal takes him deep into his thirties at an expensive cap hit. While his current play is deserving of a raise on the $5.5MM cap hit he currently carries, it’s hard to expect him to continue at that level for the duration of his new contract.
Combine that with the fact that Weber still has six years left on his current contract, which keeps him at a $7.86MM cap hit through 2025-26 and the Canadiens will have quite a bit of space eaten up by two aging defensemen. Of course, there are ways around that, including a revamped cap recapture system should Weber decide to retire before his contract expires. But with a Montreal team that is still looking for an identity upfront, committing so much money to aging defensemen could end up backfiring.
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Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers Complete Trade
After coming close to a trade yesterday, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers have worked through their “glitch.” That deal has now been completed, with Patric Hornqvist heading to Florida in exchange for Mike Matheson and Colton Sceviour. No salary has been retained by either team.
Panthers GM Bill Zito‘s statement on the move reveals exactly why he targeted Hornqvist:
A proven winner and champion, Patric brings a level of competition to our club. He is a talented veteran presence who plays with an edge and we look forward to what he can add to our group.
That championship resume is not something that many other players on the Panthers have and something that Zito will obviously value as he looks to turn around Florida in his first time as a GM. Hornqvist is also arguably the best player involved in the trade, even at his age.
Likely turning 34 just as the next NHL season gets underway (his birthday is January 1), Hornqvist has plenty of miles on a body that is routinely used to battle in front of the net and in the corners. The physical forward has scored 238 times in his career, including 84 goals from his net-front spot on the powerplay. It’s not like things have gone downhill of late either, as Hornqvist recorded 17 goals and 32 points in just 52 games this season.
Of course, for the Panthers this deal is about a lot more than just adding pedigree and leadership. Getting out from under Matheson’s contract will be seen as a big win, even if he’s able to turn around his career in Pittsburgh.
The 25-year-old defenseman had fallen completely out of favor in Florida since signing an eight-year contract in 2017. That deal carries a cap hit of $4.875MM through the 2025-26 season, and actually has a partial no-trade clause that will kick in next year. The Panthers had scratched Matheson several times and even tried him at forward as they attempted to squeeze some value out of the deal, but it just wasn’t working. In 299 games with the team he had registered 91 points, but routinely posted underwhelming defensive and possessions statistics.
A part of the deal that wasn’t reported yesterday is Sceviour, who shouldn’t be entirely overlooked. Even if he isn’t a household name, there’s no doubting Sceviour’s ability to serve a depth role in the bottom-six and help a penalty kill. He’s been a regular NHL player for the last six seasons, good for about ten goals and 25 points a year.
It is notable though that with Sceviour’s addition, the Penguins aren’t even actually opening any cap space in this deal. Hornqvist’s $5.3MM cap hit is actually surpassed by the combined totals of Matheson ($4.875MM) and Sceviour ($1.2MM) next season, though obviously, they take up two roster spots now.
More likely, Penguins GM Jim Rutherford saw this as an opportunity to reshape his group and considered Hornqvist too expensive to serve the third-line role he was likely penciled moving forward. The acquisition of Kasperi Kapanen pushed him down the lineup, plus Rutherford has been clear that he felt this group needed a drastic change if they wanted to compete for another Stanley Cup.
The question now becomes how exactly Matheson fits in. The Penguins already had four defensemen making at least $3.25MM, plus youngster John Marino who has taken hold of a top-four role. There very well could be another move coming, but for now, it is a crowded (and expensive) blueline.
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San Jose Sharks Name Bob Boughner Head Coach
The San Jose Sharks have removed the interim tag from Bob Boughner, naming him the ninth head coach in franchise history. He’ll be joined behind the bench next season by new assistants Rocky Thompson and John Madden. Sharks GM Doug Wilson released a statement explaining the new staff:
Bob did a tremendous job last season, getting our group back to playing with an identity and structure that we need in order to be successful. We saw a marked improvement in our play in several key areas during the second half of the season, before losing some key players to injury.
We’re also very pleased to add Rocky and John to our staff. Both come with a wealth of experience, both in playing the game and as teachers and leaders. With a healthy and motivated group of players, we are confident that this staff will do a terrific job leading our group in the coming years.
Mike Ricci, who served as an assistant down the stretch with the Sharks, will move to a development coach role. Evgeni Nabokov, Dan Darrow and Charlie Townsend will return in their previous roles. Roy Sommer will return to his role as head coach of the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda after helping with the NHL team this season.
Boughner took over midseason from Peter DeBoer and went 14-20-3 with the team, actually a worse winning percentage than his predecessor. Despite that, he’ll be back to try and turn things around in San Jose after a devastating season. The Sharks finished 27th in goals for and 25th in goals against, leading to a lottery position after they’d already sold their ticket. The Ottawa Senators will get to use the Sharks third-overall pick this year, making the season sting just a little bit more.
Talks Break Off Between Blues And Alex Pietrangelo
While progress on a long-term deal between the Blues and defenseman Alex Pietrangelo wasn’t being made, some still expected that the two sides would find a way to get a deal done in spite of their salary cap situation. However, that doesn’t appear to be the case now as TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that talks have broken off between the two sides and that the team has advised their captain to test free agency next month.
The 30-year-old is coming off of another fine year that saw him collect 16 goals (a career high) and 36 assists in 70 games before the pandemic shut down the rest of the regular season. Had the season played out, he easily would have set a new benchmark in points as well as he was two shy of his 54-point campaign in 2017-18. He logged over 24 minutes a game for the ninth straight year and was a fixture on both special teams units. In a league where there aren’t many all-around number one defensemen, Pietrangelo is one of them.
It’s that fact that still makes it surprising that he’s set to head to the open market. While the Blues don’t have the cap space to keep him without making other moves first, they’re the ones that put themselves in that situation after handing Justin Faulk a seven-year, $45.5MM extension upon acquiring him last September while Marco Scandella received a four-year, $13.1MM deal in the early weeks of the pandemic. Had they not made those moves, they would have had more flexibility in talks with Pietrangelo, albeit with multiple important roster spots to fill. Now, they have more than $76MM in commitments for 2020-21 already.
While the salary cap will remain flat next season at $81.5MM, it shouldn’t affect Pietrangelo’s market all that much. Top players are still expected to receive big-ticket contracts and defensemen of his caliber rarely make it to the open market. Accordingly, there will be plenty of suitors for his services (even if puts them into cap trouble) and he’ll be well-positioned to get significantly more than the $6.5MM he has played under for the last seven years. Earlier this week, it was reported that Toronto, Vegas, and Florida could all be in the mix although each of those teams would be hard-pressed to make a deal work under their respective salary cap situations.
Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the last offer from St. Louis to Pietrangelo’s camp carried a $7.7MM AAV but did not provide any breakdown with regards to salary/signing bonus structure. While that’s still a decent-sized raise and would make him the highest-paid player on the team, it’s seemingly well below what he could get in free agency. That price tag wouldn’t even put him among the top ten in cap hits for blueliners league-wide. It’s safe to assume that whatever deal he signs will put him among that group.
For St. Louis, their focus will now have to turn to the trade market. While there can be no conditions attached to a trade contingent on them signing a contract, a team can still trade something for Pietrangelo’s negotiating rights, similar to what Montreal did for Joel Edmundson last weekend. While a draft pick or prospect is far below his actual value, it’s still better than nothing which is where things appear to be headed now following this news. In the meantime, other teams will be very intrigued as it looks like a number one defender is set to reach the open market next month.
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