Tampa Bay Lightning Acquire Blake Coleman
Just a few hours after reports emerged that the New Jersey Devils had traded forward Blake Coleman to the Colorado Avalanche, after which he was scratched from tonight’s game, the forward has officially been dealt. However, not to Denver. TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report that Coleman has been traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He adds that the return for New Jersey is a 2020 first-round pick and forward prospect Nolan Foote. The first-rounder will be the Vancouver Canucks’ pick acquired in the J.T. Miller trade, rather than the Bolts’ own selection. Both teams have confirmed the deal.
At first glance, it is clear that the Lightning paid a hefty price in this exchange. Not only did Tampa give up a first-round pick, and the likely higher pick of the two they owned, but Foote was also their first-round selection just last year and the top forward in the pipeline. The big winger, who is the son of former NHLer Adam Foote and brother of Bolts prospect Cal Foote, already has pro size and is continually developing a next-level skill set and hockey IQ. Foote, the captain of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets, has scored at more than a point-per-game pace this season and also added five points in seven games at the World Junior Championship. Foote looks ready to help an NHL team sooner rather than later and the Devils will now be the club to reap that reward.
However, the metrics of production versus pay may help to explain why Coleman commanded such a sizeable cost and why he may be a crucial addition for the cap-strapped Lightning. Coleman is in the second year of a three-year, $5.4MM deal signed with the Devils. That means he is making just $1.8MM against the cap this year and next. At that value, the 28-year-old has recorded 21 goals and 31 points through 57 games this season, his second 20-goal season in a row. Not only that, but Coleman is also an intelligent two-way player who brings physicality and poise with his defensive game. Coleman has been one of New Jersey’s best players this season and his addition to a deep Lightning lineup makes for an embarrassment of riches in Tampa. After a shocking first-round sweep last season, the 2019 President’s Trophy winners are loading up in hopes of ensuring that such a collapse does not occur again.
TVA’s Renaud Lavoie, who had reported earlier today that a Coleman deal to Colorado was done, maintains that the Avalanche as well as the Boston Bruins were in the running for the versatile forward until the end. It’s fair to assume that the cost of beating the Bolts’ offer likely proved to be too much for either squad. It will be interesting to see if either team circles back to New Jersey to discuss another term forward in Kyle Palmieri, or if that asking price – probably even higher – will be too much as well. The Bruins especially are feeling the pressure of this addition by Tampa Bay, the biggest threat to unseat them at the top of the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division as well as a very likely playoff opponent.
While Foote sticks out as the most impressive piece heading to the Devils, it is worth noting that the team now has three first-round picks in June: their own, the Arizona Coyotes’ pick from the Taylor Hall trade, and now Vancouver’s pick via Tampa. They also added a second-round pick earlier in the day from the New York Islanders in exchange for veteran defenseman Andy Greene. With Palmieri possibly on the move and a Sami Vatanen even more likely to be dealt (Travis Zajac and Wayne Simmonds are also names on the rumor mill), the Devils are not done making moves and could at least one more first-round pick before the trade deadline passes next week.
Erik Karlsson Out For The Season
The nightmare season in San Jose just continues to get worse. Already down two key forwards in Logan Couture and Tomas Hertl while being well out of playoff contention, the Sharks announced that defenseman Erik Karlsson will miss the remainder of the season due to a broken thumb on his left hand that will require surgery. He is expected to be fully recovered in time for training camp.
Karlsson’s second season in San Jose has not gone as well as anyone had hoped following him signing a record-setting eight-year, $92MM deal to avoid free agency back in June, the richest contract given to a defenseman in NHL history. After seeing his production dip to 45 points last season (albeit in 53 games), his lowest since he recorded 45 in his sophomore year in Ottawa back in 2010-11, his output went a bit lower this year as he picked up six goals and 34 assists in 56 games this season. After being one of the top goal scoring threats from the back end in his prime with the Senators, he will now have gone three straight years where he scored less than ten times.
To make matters worse for the Sharks, they don’t have their first-round pick this season as it was dealt without any sort of trade protection as part of the trade to land Karlsson back in 2018. Losing Karlsson, despite his struggles, is a huge blow for their back end, a group that is likely to be weakened even further when Brenden Dillon is inevitably dealt between now and the February 24th trade deadline.
Taking Karlsson’s place on the roster will be defenseman Jacob Middleton who has been recalled from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda. The 24-year-old has played in four games with the Sharks this season and has been held off the scoresheet while chipping in with a goal and five assists in 31 games at the minor league level.
Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area was the first to report that Karlsson was out for the season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Zack Kassian Suspended Seven Games
The Department of Player Safety have handed out a punishment, and quite a hefty one at that. Zack Kassian of the Edmonton Oilers has been suspended seven games for kicking Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak last night. As the accompanying video explains:
It is important to note that while we acknowledge Kassian’s argument that he was trying to disentangle himself from the pile of players, that in no way justifies this action. NHL players regularly become entangled with opponents and teammates, and regularly remove themselves from the pile safely and legally, without putting themselves or their opponents at risk of serious injury…
…It is also important to acknowledge the Oilers’ argument that the kick was not forceful. We have always been clear that force is an important consideration for both on-ice officials and our department in assessing penalties or discipline, with more substantial penalties being handed out for more forceful or violent infractions. However we must emphasize that using a skate blade to make intentional or reckless contact with an opponent, regardless of the purpose, is entirely different from a hit that involves a player’s body or stick as there is minimal force required to dangerously cut or injure an opponent.
This is the fourth suspension handed out by the DoPS for Kassian in his NHL career, including one just a month ago when he attacked Matthew Tkachuk of the Calgary Flames. That means that Kassian is a repeat offender under the CBA, and will forfeit more than $166K in salary for this seven-game suspension.
It also means there will be absolutely no tolerance for this sort of thing or any other incidents that require supplementary discipline in the future for the Oilers’ winger. After just signing an extension with Edmonton, he’ll have to try and stay out of the DoPS sightline for a while.
Wild Fire Bruce Boudreau
It has been a disappointing season in Minnesota with one big change already being made when Jason Zucker was traded to Pittsburgh. Another big change has come with the team announcing that head coach Bruce Boudreau has been relieved of his duties. They also announced that assistant coach Dean Evason is taking over on an interim basis.
The Wild currently sit in a tie for fifth place in the Central Division with Nashville and are three points out of the final Wild Card spot in the ultra-tight Western Conference. If they fail to make the playoffs, it’ll be the second straight year that they miss after six straight appearances from 2012-13 through 2017-18.
Boudreau was in his fourth season with the team with Minnesota playing to a 158-110-35 record under his guidance. That’s the twelfth-best points percentage in the league since 2016 when he took over. The Wild made the playoffs in the first two seasons but lost in the first round both times. The timing of the change comes after Minnesota blew a 3-1 lead against the Rangers on Thursday night but the Wild are still 6-3-1 in their last ten games.
Boudreau’s contractual situation is also worth noting. As Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic notes (Twitter link), Boudreau was in the final year of his deal as head coach with two more years left on his contract after that in a consulting role. From Guerin’s point of view, once he fully decided that Boudreau wouldn’t be kept on as coach following the season, making the move now makes sense even if it comes just ten days before the trade deadline.
Boudreau has twice been fired but hasn’t stayed on the market for long. It took just two days from him to go from Washington to Anaheim in 2011-12 and only a week to do from the Ducks to the Wild in 2016 although that move came after the season. Considering the frequency of coaching changes this season – this is number eight – it’s certainly possible that his time on the market could be short-lived once again.
As for Evason, this will be his first head coaching job at the NHL level. He’s in his second year behind the bench as an assistant with Minnesota but before that, he spent six seasons as the bench boss with AHL Milwaukee. TSN’s Darren Dreger notes (Twitter link) that the job is expected to be his for the remainder of the season with a permanent hire to come in the offseason.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report Boudreau’s firing. Michael Russo of The Athletic first reported Evason’s promotion.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Winnipeg Jets Sign Paul Maurice To Multi-Year Extension
6:40pm: Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the deal is for three years.
12:05pm: The Winnipeg Jets won’t be making a change behind the bench for a while. The team announced a multi-year contract extension for head coach Paul Maurice, who has been leading the squad since 2013.
There has been chatter all season about Maurice’s future with the Jets, given the team’s performance so far. Though loaded with talent, Winnipeg sits fourth in the Central Division with a 29-24-5 record and is no sure thing to make the playoffs. Connor Hellebuyck‘s performance in net has been one of the biggest reasons why the team is even within a sniff of the postseason, but obviously management believes that Maurice has done a strong enough job.
It certainly shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Winnipeg would choose to stick with Maurice. The veteran coach has a 264-186-53 record with the Jets since arriving in 2013, and actually ranks seventh on the all-time coaching list in wins with 724. Though he doesn’t have the winning percentage of some of the names around him on that list, there is little doubt that he can be an effective coach at the NHL level.
The one question now for Maurice is whether he can get over the playoff hump. Despite coaching in nearly 1,600 regular season games, he has just 80 appearances behind the bench in the postseason, and a 36-44 record in them.
Pittsburgh Penguins Acquire Jason Zucker
The Pittsburgh Penguins have finally landed their man. The Penguins have acquired Jason Zucker from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Alex Galchenyuk, Calen Addison and a conditional 2020 first-round pick. Should the Penguins miss the playoffs this season, they will have the option to instead give the Wild their 2021 first-round selection.
Zucker, 28, has been a target of Penguins’ GM Jim Rutherford for some time. Last summer there was a deal agreed upon between the two teams that would have sent Phil Kessel to Minnesota, but the enigmatic sniper refused to waive his no-trade clause. Kessel was eventually dealt to the Arizona Coyotes instead with Galchenyuk a big part of the return. Zucker is signed through 2022-23 at a $5.5MM cap hit, giving the team a lot more cost certainty than Galchenyuk, who is a pending unrestricted free agent.
The last several years have been quite the rollercoaster for Galchenyuk. The third overall pick in 2012 scored a career-high 30 goals in 2015-16 with the Montreal Canadiens but will now join his fourth organization in three seasons. Despite coming in to potentially replace Kessel in the Pittsburgh top-six, the 25-year old couldn’t find a fit beside Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin and was dropped down in the lineup. With just five goals and 17 points in 45 games it has been a disaster for him, especially given he’ll be negotiating a new deal in a few months.
Though Zucker and Galchenyuk will fill most of the headlines, Addison isn’t to be overlooked. The 19-year old defenseman is the real gem in the deal for the Wild, who are trying to add more prospect talent to the organization. Selected 53rd overall in 2018, the puck-moving blueliner has 43 points in 39 games for the Lethbridge Hurricanes and was one of the best players for the gold medal-winning Team Canada at the World Juniors. McKenzie tweets that the Penguins didn’t want to include Addison in the deal, but given Wild GM Bill Guerin‘s familiarity with the Pittsburgh organization it’s not surprising that he was a target.
The fact that the Wild will also add a first-round selection makes this quite the package, especially if they can either re-sign or flip Galchenyuk for even more. Zucker does appear to be a perfect fit for the Penguins however, especially given Jake Guentzel‘s long-term injury.
Not only is capable of creating plenty of offense—he currently sits at 14 goals, 29 points through 45 games—he also brings the one attribute that has worked so well in the past alongside Crosby: speed. Zucker is still one of the best straight line skaters in the league and will give the team another weapon at even-strength and on the powerplay.
It comes as no surprise that Rutherford has landed one of his top targets several weeks before the deadline. The veteran executive has never been shy to pull the trigger on a big deal, and with his dynamic duo getting older there is no time to waste when pursuing another Stanley Cup.
One statistic that may cause some anxiety in Pittsburgh fans? Zucker has just eight points in 31 career playoff games, and was held scoreless during his most recent series in 2018.
Bob McKenzie of TSN was first to break the deal on Twitter.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Oilers, Darnell Nurse Sign Contract Extension
Monday: The Oilers have officially announced the Nurse extension. The deal will carry him through the 2021-22 season at a $5.6MM average annual value.
Sunday: Reports had surfaced earlier this week that the Oilers and Darnell Nurse were making progress in discussions for a contract extension. TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports (Twitter link) that the two sides are close to finalizing a two-year deal that would carry a cap hit of slightly over $5.5MM. TSN’s Darren Dreger adds (via Twitter) that the AAV will be $5.6MM. That represents a sizable raise over his current $3.2MM salary and cap hit which would have represented his qualifying offer in June.
The 25-year-old has become a fixture on Edmonton’s blueline. He reached the 40-point mark for the first time last season and has a chance of reaching that level again this year. He also ranks second on the team in ice time per game, checking in at 22:46 per night behind only Oscar Klefbom.
On the surface, someone that young and has that much of an impact on the team is someone that the Oilers would seemingly want to sign to a long-term deal, not a second bridge contract that walks him right to unrestricted free agent eligibility in the prime of his career as this deal ultimately does. However, Edmonton’s salary cap situation ultimately made doing that next to impossible.
With this signing, Edmonton will now have a little over $68MM in commitments for 2020-21 to just 13 players. Even with a small increase to the current $81.5MM Upper Limit, that doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room to round out their roster as things currently stand. A long-term pact with a higher AAV would have created an even bigger cap crunch for GM Ken Holland to work with this summer.
However, between now and 2022 when this deal will expire, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Mikko Koskinen, and Adam Larsson could all potentially be off the books if they’re not retained while James Neal will be in the final year of his deal. Between that and a likely higher salary cap by then, that should give Holland some more wiggle room to work with down the road. To that end, McKenzie notes (Twitter link) that the plan at this time is that the plan is to work out a long-term extension with Nurse in the 2021 offseason. However, they are running a risk with this strategy as the allure of hitting the open market at 27 could be difficult for Nurse to ultimately pass up. But for now, they’ll have one of their top blueliners signed for at least the next two seasons.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Tomas Hertl Out For Season With Knee Injury
Feb 6: Hertl underwent surgery on Monday and is now starting a long recovery process. He is expected to be ready for next season’s training camp.
Jan 30: Everything has gone completely wrong for the San Jose Sharks this year. Tomas Hertl has suffered a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee and is out for the rest of the season. Hertl was injured on a play that seemed relatively harmless as he and Chris Tanev of the Vancouver Canucks slowly slid into the end boards.
Unfortunately, Hertl’s season comes to an end just a few days after participating in the first All-Star game of his career. The 26-year old forward was named a replacement for teammate Logan Couture who is dealing with a broken ankle, but put on a show in the breakaway challenge, accuracy shooting and 3-on-3 main event.
With 16 goals and 36 points through his first 48 games, Hertl has once again shown that he can be a top-line presence even if the Sharks haven’t been able to win many games this season. He scored 35 goals last year for the Sharks in the first season of a four-year, $22.5MM deal he signed in 2018. The contract seemed to be quite the bargain at this point, but he’ll now have to battle just to be ready for the start of next season.
San Jose now sits with a 22-26-4 record after losing to the Canucks last night and are 26th in league goal scoring. Without Hertl, one of their most dangerous offensive weapons, they will be hard pressed to change that record.
Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Jack Campbell, Kyle Clifford
The Toronto Maple Leafs will not wait any longer for an upgrade in net. After falling to the New York Rangers tonight, the team has acquired Jack Campbell and Kyle Clifford from the Los Angeles Kings. In return, the Kings will receive depth forward Trevor Moore, a third-round pick in 2020 (CBJ) and a conditional third-round pick in 2021. That pick will become a second if the team re-signs Clifford or the Maple Leafs make the playoffs and Campbell wins six regular season games. The Kings will also retain 50% of Clifford’s remaining salary.
Toronto had been struggling all season to find a reliable backup goaltender and with Frederik Andersen‘s recent injury, were forced to play Michael Hutchinson again this evening. After four goals against—including one laughable mishap where Hutchinson fell down and lost his stick—Maple Leafs’ GM Kyle Dubas had apparently seen enough. It comes as little surprise that Campbell would be a target of Dubas, who once traded for the goaltender while still running the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.
Campbell, 28, comes to Toronto after quite the journey. The 11th overall pick in 2010, the big goaltender had shown plenty of promise as part of the U.S. National Team Development Program. Unfortunately that success didn’t really carry over to the CHL or AHL ranks, and he struggled to even make it up the Dallas Stars’ depth chart. By 2015-16 he was splitting time between the AHL and ECHL, looking like a failed draft pick.
In came the Kings and goaltending coach Bill Ranford, who turned Campbell from a failed prospect to a part-time starter last season. Now through 58 career NHL games, he carries a .916 save percentage and a lot of hope for Maple Leafs’ fans.
Not to be forgotten in the deal is Clifford, who will cost just what remains of $800K for Toronto down the stretch. That essentially makes him the same price as Moore, though he comes with some very obvious stylistic differences. Clifford is an extremely physical forward who is willing to stand up for his teammates and punish defenders as they go back for the puck. A lack of physicality has been a critique of the Maple Leafs for some time, though we’ll have to wait and see if he can bring that on a regular basis.
For the Kings, Moore represents another potential forward piece for their rebuild. The 24-year old was signed out of the University of Denver in 2016 and produced very well at the minor league level, but was limited to mostly fourth line duties in Toronto. He has 13 points through 52 career games, but brings a ton of speed to a lineup that has been looking for it. Not only will Moore likely get a bigger opportunity in Los Angeles, but the Thousand Oaks, California native will be a lot closer to home.
Edmonton Oilers Extend Zack Kassian
Before Zack Kassian takes the ice to confront Matthew Tkachuk and the Calgary Flames later tonight, he’ll be the subject of some other news. The Edmonton Oilers forward has signed a four-year contract extension according to Bob McKenzie of TSN, which will carry an average annual value of $3.2MM. Kassian was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. McKenzie adds that the deal does not contain any trade protection and that the breakdown of the contract is as follows:
2020-21: $2.5MM salary, $1MM signing bonus
2021-22: $2.5MM salary, $1MM signing bonus
2022-23: $3.5MM salary
2023-24: $2.3MM salary
Kassian, 29, signed a three-year, $5.85MM deal with the Oilers back in 2017, meaning he’s getting quite the raise after logging some tough minutes with the club. A reclamation project by the time he ended up in Edmonton, Kassian has steadily developed into a real contributor for the team and has 13 goals and 28 points while often skating beside Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
While some will argue that his offensive production is entirely dependent on those superstars, other players have struggled when given those minutes. Kassian’s above-average skating ability isn’t common in a player who plays such a physical game, and even before he came to Edmonton he had shown some goal-scoring promise around the net.
Still, at four years, the length of the deal comes with some significant risk. The Oilers aren’t exactly in a situation where they can throw around $3.2MM, given they have so much committed to McDavid and Draisaitl. The team is getting out from under some other bad contracts over the next few seasons, but that doesn’t mean they can afford to sign new ones. While Kassian certainly isn’t guaranteed to decline over the length of the deal, he also doesn’t offer a ton of upside as a top-six option.
Edmonton does have a huge number of decisions to make on their forward group for next season however. Even after signing Kassian they still have six forwards on the roster that will become unrestricted free agents at the end of this season. At the very least they know that the power forward can slot somewhere into the NHL lineup next year.
From Kassian’s point of view, it’s easy to understand why he would want to sign long-term in Edmonton. Originally drafted 13th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in 2009, he has been open about his battle with addiction and alcohol abuse in the early years of his professional career. Not only has he found a place among some of the best forwards in the world, but sobriety and a new chapter in his hockey playing story. Now he’ll get to spend the next several years trying to show why he was picked so high in the first place.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images