Arizona Coyotes Part Ways With Dave Tippett
In a shocking move less than 24 hours before the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, the Arizona Coyotes have parted ways with long-time head coach Dave Tippett. The team announced it was a mutual parting, and will start looking for a new coach immediately. The announcement was made by new sole-owner Andrew Barroway:
On behalf of the entire Coyotes organization, I would like to sincerely thank Tip for all of his hard work and the many contributions he made to our organization. Tip is a man of high character and we are very grateful for his leadership during his tenure as our head coach. Ultimately, we have some philosophical differences on how to build our team. Therefore, we mutually agreed that it is in everyone’s best interest to have a coaching change in order to move our franchise forward.
Tippett admits that it was a mutual decision, though the timing couldn’t be worse for the Coyotes. Not only is the draft just hours away, but every other vacancy around the NHL has already been filled. Though it comes much sooner than Patrick Roy‘s unceremonious exit from the Colorado Avalanche last offseason, the announcement stings in the same fashion. 
After coaching the Dallas Stars for several years, Tippett was hired by the Coyotes in September of 2009, just a month before the 2009-10 season started. At that point it had been Wayne Gretzky who had stepped down amid financial pressure from two potential buyers of the team. Tippett was hired just a few hours later, and has remained in the position ever since.
This is the third such surprising move from the Coyotes in the past week, as tenured captain Shane Doan was told he would not return and Mike Smith was traded less than two weeks after being called the team’s “rock” by GM John Chayka. Though there are obviously rational reasons for both of those moves with the team heading towards a young core, again the timing seems unfortunate.
As Craig Morgan of AZ Sports put it in a tweet:
“On eve of NHL Draft, Coyotes have no coach, no captain (yet), no president/CEO, no starting G, no No.1 C (still), no prez of hockey ops.”
The Prsident and CEO Morgan refers to was let go when Barroway bought out the minority owners earlier this month, and it is interesting that the announcements on Tippett and Doan have both come from him directly. There had been rumored differences in direction that had led to the buyout in the first place, and clearly Barroway had some strong ideas on the new path of the franchise.
So now, with Ken Hitchcock, Travis Green, Doug Weight, Bruce Cassidy, Bob Boughner and Phil Housley all securely hired away to teams around the league the Coyotes will begin a search from scratch.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
New York Islanders Acquire Jordan Eberle From Edmonton Oilers
The New York Islanders have acquired Jordan Eberle from the Edmonton Oilers. In return, the Oilers will receive Ryan Strome. The deal is just one-for-one, with no additional salary or assets changing hands. 
Eberle is coming off a terrible playoffs with the Oilers, scoring just two points (and no goals) during their entire run. Falling out of favor with the coaching staff and playing less than 13 minutes in three of the final four games (with the other going to overtime) it was easy to see why his name immediately popped up in trade speculation around the league. The 27-year old is still one of the most consistent offensive wingers in the game, recording 20 goals for the fifth time in his career and registering 51 points this season.
The biggest negative for Eberle, and perhaps a bigger reason why he’ll no longer play in Edmonton, is that he was signed for $6MM through the end of 2019. With the Oilers needing money and cap space for long-term extensions for Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, his contract was the most likely to go. The Islanders, who cleared room with a Vegas deal yesterday, needed to give John Tavares some help on the first line to try and keep him around long-term.
In theory, Eberle seems like the perfect fit. The pair were magic together at the World Juniors nearly ten years ago, and would seem to be natural compliments to each other in New York. Should Doug Weight put Eberle with Tavares and 34-goal man Anders Lee, the Islanders could have one of the most dynamic offensive lines in the league.
While the Oilers get some much needed salary relief, they also add Strome, the fifth-overall pick from 2011 and middle brother in a hockey playing family. Strome played just 69 games last season registering 30 points, but did seem to find some success after the Islanders’ mid-season coaching change. Even though he might not have the goal-scoring ability of Eberle, he is considerably younger and substantially cheaper. His ability to play center, at least part-time, is also interesting and he could easily return to the 50-point season he had as a 21-year old.
Strome, 23, costs just $2.5MM this season and will be a restricted free agent next summer. If he does break out, the Oilers could be in a similar situation without the money to pay him a long-term deal, but would rather take their chances at this point and make sure their big two are locked up.
Darren Dreger of TSN was first to report the deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Trevor Van Riemsdyk Traded To Carolina
The Carolina Hurricanes have made the first big post-expansion deal, acquiring Trevor van Riemsdyk and a 2018 seventh-round pick from the Vegas Golden Knights. The Golden Knights will receive Pittsburgh’s 2017 second-round pick in return, originally acquired for Ron Hainsey at the trade deadline.
As noted last night, there was immediately chatter among insiders that the Golden Knights would immediately flip van Riemsdyk to Carolina, though nothing was certain after the fireworks that went on last night in terms of trades. This is one of the more interesting flips, as Carolina already has an excess of defenders on the roster and has been looking to move at least one for scoring help. Bringing van Riemsdyk aboard gives them even more leeway to make an upgrade at forward, with Justin Faulk perhaps being the most likely candidate to be on the move.
van Riemsdyk was selected from the Chicago Blackhawks last night in what was expected to be half of a side deal with the Vegas Golden Knights. We’d heard for weeks that the Blackhawks would send Marcus Kruger to Vegas as well, but with news breaking yesterday that Marian Hossa would not be able to play next season, suddenly things shifted. Chicago was no longer in such dire need of cap relief, though there is no guarantee things will stay that way. Kruger may still be in play at some point, especially if the league decides Hossa can’t stay on LTIR.
For Vegas, this was the plan all along. Pick many more valuable assets than needed—in this case defensemen—and immediately flip them for prospects and picks that will benefit the team more down the road. Though van Riemsdyk is only 25 and could help the Golden Knights immediately, he’s also a restricted free agent next summer and is likely due to get a hefty raise. His current contract—$825K this year—is so appealing to teams around the league that there were likely several suitors once Vegas got their hands on him.
In three seasons since turning pro out of the University of New Hampshire, van Riemsdyk has developed into more than just another NCAA free agent. He registered 16 points in 56 games this season (all at even strength), and was a solid possession contributor. He’s clearly good enough to log more than the average bottom-pairing defenseman, but behind both Faulk and Brett Pesce there won’t be much opportunity for that should they both remain.
Frank Seravalli of TSN was first to break the deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Arizona Coyotes Will Not Re-Sign Shane Doan
Though Shane Doan still has some hope to play again next season, it won’t be for the only club he’s ever known. The long-time Coyotes captain who actually played one season for the Winnipeg Jets before they moved to the desert, will not be re-signed by the team. Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports that the Coyotes informed him of that decision over the weekend. 
Doan has played parts of 21 seasons in the NHL, all for the same organization. In 1,540 games he registered 402 goals and 972 points while serving as captain for the last 13 seasons. In all that time, he only played in 55 playoff contests making it past the first round just once. He ranks in the top-100 all-time in goals, assists and points, but will have to finish his career somewhere else if he should want to play in 2017-18 or beyond.
LeBrun believes there are other teams with interest in the 40-year old winger, but it would be tough to pull on the sweater of another franchise after so many years. Doan has helped hockey in Arizona tremendously over the years, with players like Auston Matthews now showing the impact he had when he came here two decades ago. When the two met earlier this year in Arizona, Matthews had this to say about one of his childhood idols:
He’s been such an amazing not only hockey player for this team, but in the community. Obviously you see in the intermission breaks the people he touches and affects. It just shows you how much more it is to him not only to be a hockey player, but just an amazing person in the community.
Even if Doan does play a year or two somewhere else, he’ll be a part of the Coyotes franchise forever. The team issued this statement on the decision not to offer him a contract:
After serious consideration, we have decided to not offer Shane Doan a contract for the upcoming season. The time has come for us to move on and to focus on our young, talented group of players and our very bright future.
Shane deserves an enormous amount of credit for keeping the Coyotes in the Valley and for growing the game of hockey in Arizona. He is beloved by our fans, corporate partners and the media and has been a tremendous leader for us in the community, and a great role model for kids. We wish him and his family all the best in the future. He will be a member of our Pack forever.
According to Craig Morgan of AZ Sports, Oliver Ekman-Larsson will take over as captain of the Coyotes next season. Ekman-Larsson has been the best player on Arizona for a while now, and has two years left on his current contract. He will be just the fourth captain since becoming the Coyotes, following Doan (2003-17), Teppo Numminen (2001-03) and Keith Tkachuk (1996-2001).
PHR Mock Expansion Roster
The protection lists are in, and the Vegas Golden Knights are on the clock to determine who will be selected in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. Each team will lose one player off their roster, either through an expansion selection or the Golden Knights signing a free agent.
Vegas must select at least 20 players who are under contract for the 2017-18 season and a minimum of 14 forwards, 9 defensemen and 3 goaltenders. The contracts of the selected players must fall between 60% ($43.8MM) and 100% ($73MM) of the 2016-17 salary cap. The entire rules for the selection process can be found here.
Here at PHR Zach Leach, Brian La Rose, Mike Furlano, Nate Brown, Seth Lawrence, Holger Stolzenberg and I all submitted what we thought the Vegas expansion selections would look like, and below is the projected roster based on those predictions. This made for a pretty interesting lineup, selecting a surplus of NHL defensemen and goaltenders in order to collect assets for the summer.
Forwards (15):
James Neal (NSH)
Cody Eakin (DAL)
David Perron (STL)
Jamie McGinn (ARZ)
Brock Nelson (NYI)
William Karlsson (CBJ)
Hunter Shinkaruk (CGY)
Kerby Rychel (TOR)
Marko Dano (WPG)
Jon Marchessault (FLA)
Charles Hudon (MTL)
Nicolas Kerdiles (ANA)
Beau Bennett (NJD)
Brendan Gaunce (VAN)
Taylor Leier (PHI)
Defensemen (10):
Marc Methot (OTT)
Brenden Dillon (SJS)
Mathew Dumba (MIN)
Brayden McNabb (LAK)
Colin Miller (BOS)
Klas Dahlbeck (CAR)
Trevor van Riemsdyk (CHI)
Griffin Reinhart (EDM)
Jake Dotchin (TB)
Nate Schmidt (WSH)
Goaltenders (5):
Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT)
Petr Mrazek (DET)
Antti Raanta (NYR)
Calvin Pickard (COL)
Linus Ullmark (BUF)
Obviously, some of the expected side deals were taken into account with Anaheim being the clearest example. Both Sami Vatanen and Josh Manson were not selected, as it is almost a given that Anaheim has some sort of a protection deal with the Golden Knights. That said, as GM George McPhee said today, nothing is final until it’s final.
Here are the honorable mentions, made up of players that received more than one vote but were still not the majority choice:
Sami Vatanen (ANA), Josh Manson (ANA), Alexander Burmistrov (ARZ), Malcolm Subban (BOS), William Carrier (BUF), Eddie Lack (CAR), Mikhail Grigorenko (COL), Jack Johnson (CBJ), Dan Hamhuis (DAL), Iiro Pakarinen (EDM), Christian Folin (MIN), Ryan Strome (NYI), Thomas Hickey (NYI), Michael Grabner (NYR), Bobby Ryan (OTT), Paul Martin (SJ) Nail Yakupov (STL), Dmitrij Jaskin (STL), Cedric Paquette (TB), Andrey Pedan (VAN), Philipp Grubauer (WSH).
We came to a unanimous decision on only three players, with Trevor van Riemsdyk, Marc-Andre Fleury and Marko Dano receiving votes from all seven writers. That uncertainty will make the next few days even more interesting, as surprises and closed-door dealings will be sure to make June 21st a wild night. Make sure to leave your choices in the comments, and what you think the chances of this team would be next season.
NHL Salary Cap Raised To $75 Million
The NHL’s salary cap ceiling has been raised by $2 MM to $75 MM, according to NBC and various sources. The NHLPA voted on this decision back on June 16th according to TSN’s Pierre Lebrun, and the results of that vote resulted in next season’s total. The floor (or minimum) will be set at $55.4 MM.
The increase is slightly less than what many fans had hoped for, though the figure had been floated around for quite some time. This is only a 2.6% increase in the ceiling, which is less than the option the NHLPA could have opted for – an automatic 5% yearly increase. The stagnation in the cap overall is concerning to many teams who are very near the cap and/or have players due raises in the near future.
Many teams have been operating under the assumption that the ceiling would be around this number, so it shouldn’t affect any single organization too greatly. The team that will be most impacted is the Chicago Blackhawks, who are already over that ceiling. Teams such as the Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning highlight a group that will struggle to get a compliant roster in the near future with such little room to maneuver.
Flames Acquire Mike Smith From Coyotes
The Flames and Coyotes have agreed on a trade that sends goaltender Mike Smith to Calgary in exchange for defensive prospect Brandon Hickey, a conditional 2018 third round pick, and the negotiating rights to Chad Johnson. The pick will become a second rounder if the Flames make the postseason in 2017-18. Both teams have announced the deal.
Smith has spent the last six seasons in the desert but is coming off a down season where he recorded a 2.92 GAA and a .914 SV% in 55 games. He carries a cap hit of $5.67MM for the next two seasons and at the age of 35, he’s not a great long-term fit for an Arizona team that is clearly in a rebuilding process. He also has a partial no-trade clause and can block a trade to eight teams. Arizona will retain 25% of the contract in the trade.
Calgary brought in a brand new goaltending tandem last summer in Brian Elliott (trade with St. Louis) and Johnson Chad Johnson (free agency) but neither player really got the job done, posting identical .910 save percentages. Both players are set to become unrestricted free agents in two weeks time. The Flames’ 2018 3rd rounder had been included as a conditional pick in the Elliott trade last June (contingent on him re-signing) and the fact it has again been dealt here is pretty much a guarantee that Elliott won’t be back.
Flames GM Brad Treliving is certainly familiar with Smith as he was the assistant GM with the Coyotes when the netminder was signed to his current contract. With two years left on Smith’s deal, the length of the contract is ideal as the team is hopeful that some of their youngsters such as Jon Gillies or David Rittich will be ready to make the NHL jump within the next year or so while the team also has youngsters Tyler Parsons and Mason McDonald in their system.
Johnson has bounced around in recent years and hasn’t spent more than one year in an organization since his time with the Rangers from 2009-10 to 2011-12. He played in 36 games with Calgary, compiling a 2.59 GAA along with that .910 SV%. Johnson has also spent time with the Bruins, Islanders, Sabres, and the Coyotes (four games back in 2012-13).
Hickey was a third round pick of the Flames (64th overall) back in 2014. He recently completed his third season at Boston University, recording four goals and 11 assists in 35 games. He was also part of Team Canada’s World Junior entry back in 2016.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first to report the two teams were working on a trade. TSN’s Bob McKenzie was the first to report the draft pick and Hickey’s inclusion with TSN’s Aaron Ward added Johnson’s inclusion. Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic was the first to add the conditional pick details.
Buffalo Acquires Nathan Beaulieu From Canadiens
The Buffalo Sabres have added some depth to their blueline, announcing that they’ve acquired defenseman Nathan Beaulieu from Montreal in exchange for a third round pick (68th overall) pick in next week’s draft.
Beaulieu, the 17th overall pick back in 2011, has spent his entire NHL career with the Canadiens. This past season, he played in 74 games, scoring four goals and added 24 assists for a career high 28 points. He also logged a career high 19:39 per game in ice time.
However, his role diminished as the season progressed after opening up the year alongside Shea Weber. He wound up being a healthy scratch in Montreal’s final postseason game which suggested a trade was likely.
The 24 year old is coming off a two year, $2MM bridge contract and is slated for restricted free agency with arbitration eligibility in July. Despite how his time in Montreal ended, he should be in line for a considerable raise. The Sabres are slated to lose Dmitry Kulikov next month as an unrestricted free agent and it’s likely that Beaulieu will slot in as his replacement.
From Montreal’s perspective, it had been speculated that the team wasn’t considering protecting him in the upcoming expansion draft so the deal allows them to get something for a player they were potentially going to lose for nothing. That means that the final protection slot will go to one of Jordie Benn, Brandon Davidson, or Alexei Emelin.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Coyotes Acquire Nick Cousins From Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers have traded center Nick Cousins and the rights to Harvard goalie Merrick Madsen to the Arizona Coyotes for a 2018 fifth round pick and the rights to Brendan Warren. TSN’s Bob McKenzie tweeted the specifics that the Flyers received a 2018 fifth round pick and Warren, who is currently at the University of Michigan. Warren was the Coyotes’ 3rd round pick in 2015. Elliotte Friedman reported Madsen being part of the deal, and added that he was “no guarantee” to sign with the Flyers.
Cousins was taken in the third round by the Flyers back in the 2011 NHL draft. He appeared in 60 games and had 16 points (6-10). Cousins was likely to be exposed by the Flyers in the expansion draft, so it’s a situation where Flyers general manager Ron Hextall is getting something instead of losing him for nothing. PHR’s Seth Lawrence projected Cousins to be unprotected in the draft.
Craig Custance was the first to tweet a potential deal. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun tweeted that it was Cousins involved in the deal.
Anaheim Ducks To Buy Out Simon Despres
In a surprising move, the Anaheim Ducks have placed Simon Despres on waivers in order to buy out his contract. Despres had four seasons remaining on his current contract, meaning the buyout cap-hit will be as follows:
- 2017-18: $1.26MM
- 2018-19: -$338K
- 2019-20: -$338K
- 2020-21: $963K
- 2021-22: $663K
- 2022-23: $663K
- 2023-24: $663K
- 2024-25: $663K
Interestingly, completing the buyout now when Despres is only 25 means that the team only has to pay out 1/3 of the remaining salary, and because that needs to be spread over eight years they will actually receive a cap credit in 2018-19 and 2019-20. Had they waited any longer, Despres would have turned 26 (July 27th) and the team would have had to pay twice as much in terms of salary.
Despres missed all but one game last season for the Ducks, but began skating with the team late in the year and now must have been officially cleared in order for the team to buy him out. The defenseman has dealt with concussion problems for quite some time, but could try to and come back somewhere around the league. Once a first-round pick that showed big potential as a two-way horse, if he wants (and is able to) play again he’ll have to rebuild his value.
This move is almost certainly linked to a possible Cam Fowler extension, as the team moves money out in order to hand out a long-term contract to their star defenseman. Despres was set to go unprotected in the expansion draft anyway, meaning this has little to do with that situation. The Ducks, who were right up against the cap already will save almost $2.5MM this season and more than $4MM each of the next two, room enough to help them fit in Fowler or any free agent they deem worthy.