Vegas Signs Reinhart And Leipsic To Two-Year Deals
The Vegas Golden Knights have announced the signings of Griffin Reinhart and Brendan Leipsic to two-year contracts, per the team’s twitter. Reinhart’s deal is worth $800,000 AAV, while Leipsic’s is only for $650,000 a season.
Reinhart is a former first-round pick, picked fourth overall in 2012 by the New York Islanders. He was moved to Edmonton for a first-round and second-round pick. He under-performed in Alberta, only playing 29 games total. His Corsi For Relative % was a poor -3.3%, and he often struggled with the puck on his stick, flubbing simple zone exits. With only two career assists to his name, he has a lot to prove in the NHL. That said, there was a reason he was so highly touted in his draft class. He’s mobile for a 6’4 defenseman and has tons of room to grow at only 23 years old. He has shown a solid pass from time to time and has the potential to be a solid top-4 defender if he can learn to adjust to the intellectual pace of the NHL game. Watching him down the tail stretch of the season and in his one playoff game in relief due to injuries, he’s not a lost cause. Reinhart has grown physically and still has a decent skill level. Vegas will hope to have struck gold with this player, but he’ll have to beat out other promising young defensemen in the system in order to gain heavy playing time.
Leipsic is a more curious move, as he is quite undersized and is no sure bet to crack an NHL roster. That said, he had a 120-point season with the Portland Winterhawks and adjusted well to his time with the AHL Marlies, potting 50 points twice. The 5’10 winger was an add-on in a trade between Toronto and Nashville a few years back, and has only dressed for 6 games total for the Leafs. Still, he’s only 23, and is a sparkplug on every shift. He moves quickly and has decent hands, but is most likely destined for an AHL scoring role. He’ll have the opportunity to flourish in Vegas if he proves himself early, considering that team’s lack of proven offensive depth.
Neither player had a particularly strong case for a raise, so this news is not much of a shock. Still, Vegas is locking up the players it claimed in the expansion draft and banking on younger players to step up this season.
Penguins’ 3rd-Line Center Options
With the loss of Nick Bonino to Nashville via free agency, the reigning champion Pittsburgh Penguins have a gaping hole down the middle. For the first time in over a decade, the center position is now one of relative weakness. It’s always a possibility that Matt Cullen decides to re-sign for one more year, but he will not be able to carry the load of a typical 3rd-line center. Cullen showed signs of slowing down toward the tail-end of the team’s playoff run, and he was only averaging 13:55 a game through the regular season. At 41 years old, he simply won’t be a viable long-term option. The Penguins likely have high hopes for Zach Aston-Reese to make a push in training camp, but he is an unknown quantity at the NHL level. GM Jim Rutherford had 5 potential trade options in the works prior to July 1st, according to the very reliable Josh Yohe of DKPittsburghSports. Talks either fizzled or were put on the back-burner, but one might imagine the number of available targets is far fewer now. With Dallas’ three-year signing of Radek Faksa, there is one fewer name left for consideration. Vegas seems to be content with merely flipping defensemen from here on in, although names such as Cody Eakin and William Karlsson shouldn’t be thrown out entirely. Erik Haula is likely a pipe-dream, but he’s another possible target. Matt Duchene was linked for a time, but between the high cost and the stubbornness of Colorado GM Joe Sakic to make a move, he seems incredibly unlikely.
Who are the safest bets for an off-season move? Or will Pittsburgh enter the season with someone unproven slotting behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin?
Bozak has made tons of sense since his name was first mentioned. A lot has been made of his relationship with Phil Kessel. When they played on a line together in Toronto, Kessel saw some of his best career production. More than that however – the Leafs are in a bit of cap pinch as they will look to free up dollars for Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander in the next two seasons. They certainly aren’t in any hurry to drop underneath the ceiling due to LTIR intricacies, but moving out Bozak’s $4.2 MM for this next season would be a forward looking move. If he’s due a raise, it’s likely they’ll lose him for far less, as his contract expires at the end of 2017-18. The move makes sense for Pittsburgh because of the Kessel relationship, but also because he fits the mold of the Pittsburgh squad. He’s a solid skater, sees the ice well, and hustles back into his own zone. His playmaking abilities would be a wonderful fit on the cheap to aid the high-powered offense, and the player would be a positive possession asset to remove the stress from the bigger guns. Bozak does have a modified no-trade clause, but it’s hard to see Pittsburgh being included on his list of non-tradeable teams.
Staal saw a lot of success in Pittsburgh before he was traded away to Carolina at the 2012 draft. Jordan was traded to that team in particular due to his desire to player with his older brother Eric Staal. Seeing as Eric is no longer in the picture, it would make sense that Staal might be open to a Pittsburgh reunion. Staal is one of the better defensive centers in the league, and has been forced to take a more uncomfortably offensive role in Carolina. Staal’s biggest downside is that he isn’t the most agile skater, but he’s not any slower than Nick Bonino was. That said, he can play the shutdown role and be a total nuisance for top opponents. Rutherford loves the player, as he was the GM of Carolina when they initially acquired the player, for a hefty sum of Brandon Sutter, Brian Dumoulin, and a 1st-round pick (which became Derrick Pouilot). According to Yohe, Staal is apparently open to a return, and the nostalgic element of the team’s fanbase is clamoring for this to happen. Rutherford stated on a local radio segment with Ron Cook that “to his knowledge he (Staal) isn’t available”, but he’s played coy with the media in the past.
Out Of Left-Field
Rutherford has been known to throw the hockey world for a loop with some of his trades. The James Neal–Patric Hornqvist trade shocked just about everyone, and the Phil Kessel trade is still being discussed to this day. If there’s one thing we should expect from him, it’s the unexpected. There are a few lesser options out there for Rutherford to explore, and management may want to have the Conor Sheary and Brian Dumoulin contracts put to paper before making any sort of transaction. It seems unlikely that anything will happen until those deals get done. Rutherford told Jason Mackey of the Post-Gazette that there are “hundreds of names on (his list)”, and that it’s “a patient process”. Could Detroit be willing to move Andreas Athanasiou? Could Bryan Little be pried from Winnipeg for a young defenseman? It’s hard to speculate as to where exactly management have set their sights, but Rutherford is generally willing to overpay to “get his man”. There is the slight likelihood that they enter the season with that hole left unfilled, but it’s hard to imagine. Until more dominoes fall, Rutherford is likely to bide his team and search for the correct deal.
Atlantic Notes: Johnson, Tatar
Will the length of Tyler Johnson‘s contract come back to haunt the Bolts? The Hockey News’ Ken Campbell writes that while he’s only 26 and the numbers were below his value, Johnson may very well already be in decline. Though his numbers were would have been similar had they gone to arbitration, Campbell wonders if Johnson will put up the numbers that got him the deal. Should he get 55-60 points per season, Campbell believes it to be worth the money, calling it a steal. But if his regression continues? He just hopes for general manager Steve Yzerman‘s sake that the Jonathan Drouin deal doesn’t come back to haunt him, either.
It’s no secret that Johnson has struggled to stay healthy. His numbers have fallen steadily since his career year in 2014-15 where he put up 72 points. His playoff numbers in consecutive seasons were also impressive, and most likely what secured him the contract. Campbell also believes that Johnson is dependent upon his linemates, and in spite of averaging 53 points in his first four seasons, there’s a lot riding on it for him, and the Lightning.
- There’s more interesting takes coming out of Detroit regarding Tomas Tatar. The curious case of his negotiations began with him saying if he only gets a year, he’s done in Detroit. General manager Ken Holland all but shrugged it off, which led many to wonder just how motivated the Red Wings were to getting a long term deal done. The Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James reports that the Red Wings are wary of giving Tatar a seven-year deal. This is somewhat understandable in the cap era with the exception of one point–Holland has been more than happy to offer long term deals to players who haven’t exactly produced to warrant them–with Justin Abdelkader being the best example. So with Tatar, it’s curious. The Detroit News’ Gregg Krupa goes a step further, writing that it’s essentially “cap malpractice” if Detroit isn’t paying him because they’re too bloated from other contracts. St. James adds that Tatar hasn’t produced like T.J. Oshie, or Tyler Johnson, but to be fair, Tatar hasn’t been surrounded with the talent the aforementioned have. Further, as Krupa points out, that if a deal isn’t worked out, it’s more evidence of roster mismanagement. Once the model franchise of the NHL, the Red Wings decision making continues to baffle. The team isn’t much improved from last season, they’re strapped financially, and they’re fighting with their leading scorer on a deal. It will be interesting to see how ownership reacts should the Red Wings struggle out of the gate, especially with Holland making it a priority to make the playoffs.
Winnipeg Inks Brandon Tanev To A One-Year Deal
The Winnipeg Jets have announced the re-signing of left wing Brandon Tanev to a one-year, $700K deal. Tanev spent 51 games with the Jets last season.
The 25-year-old split time between the Jets and AHL affiliate Manitoba, potting four points (2-2) in the NHL while posting nine points (2-7) in 23 games with the Moose. An undrafted free agent, Tanev averaged close to eleven minutes per game (10:41) while in Winnipeg.
Tanev found himself called up near the end of the year after already contributing in 43 games prior to that call up. A two-way forward, Tanev should compete for bottom six minutes this season, and seeing an uptick in ice time with his responsible play in his own end of the ice.
Kings Name Pierre Turgeon As Assistant Coach
New head coach John Stevens‘ staff is complete, as the Los Angeles Kings announced this afternoon that they have hired five-time NHL All-Star Pierre Turgeon as an assistant coach. With Dave Lowry, Don Nachbauer, and Bill Ranford already in place, Stevens and the Kings are ready to go for 2017-18.
Although this will be Turgeon’s first NHL coaching positions, and really his first at all other than coaching his own kids through youth hockey, he makes up for his lack of coaching experience with more than enough playing experience in his illustrious career. The 1987 #1 overall pick is 30th all-time in assists with 812, 38th all-time in goals with 515, and 32nd in points with 1327, all accomplished over a 19-year NHL career with five teams. A teammate of Kings GM Rob Blake with the Colorado Avalanche in 2005-06, Turgeon surely impressed his new boss with his cerebral play-making and vision on the ice. Kings president Luc Robitaille described Turgeon’s new role as that of an “offensive coordinator”, as L.A. looks to cure an offense that was anemic at times last season, finishing 25th in scoring. Turgeon should also provide a boost to the team’s 15th-ranked power play, somewhat of a specialty of his during his playing days.
Turgeon’s hire becomes the third big coaching story today, as the New York Islanders swapped goalie coaches, hiring Fred Brathwaite and not extending Mike Dunham, while across town the New York Rangers made official the hiring of Lindy Ruff as an assistant coach for Alain Vigneault.
Eastern Notes: Liljegren, Bozak, Athanasiou
Toronto’s first round pick Timothy Liljegren has impressed in development camp with his size and skill, working with Stephane Robidas. At a healthy 6’4 and after being projected to go much earlier, some Leafs fans have hoped that they might get a glimpse of the young Swede on the backend. Outside of pre-season, that doesn’t seem to be the case. In all likelihood, it seems Liljegren will be headed back to Sweden or to the Ontario Hockey League, according to his own comments on NHL.com. The Leafs’ defense is particularly deep, so it was always a long-shot to see him crack the squad. Management won’t look to rush him into a roster spot, and that seems a wise decision. Regardless of his very apparent ability, further development at a lower level will only improve his staying power in the NHL.
- As mentioned in an earlier PHR post, the New York Post’s Larry Brooks mentioned Tyler Bozak as a potential target for the Rangers. But it also seems probable he could land elsewhere. Many teams are on the hunt for cheap center help, and with Toronto looking towards their future contract obligations, Bozak seems rather expendable. Pittsburgh is absolutely in need, and he would be a phenomenal fit with Phil Kessel, considering their past chemistry. Another team who is very willing to make moves at the moment is Arizona. They already stole a valuable player in Derek Stepan, but GM John Chayka seems adept in transaction and eager to engage the trade market. Adding Bozak would add some two-way ability and allow other players, such as Christian Dvorak, to slot back into more natural roles. After apparently missing out on the Matt Duchene sweepstakes, Bozak could even be a decent option for 3rd pivot in Nashville. Bozak will draw lots of attention if and/or when he is shopped.
- The Red Wings are not looking to make many moves at the moment, according to Michigan Live’s Ansar Khan. The Tomas Tatar negotiations are apparently not going well. Khan believes the team could look to move him later on, but both parties expect him to play the bulk of the season before that option is considered. Andreas Athanasiou would be another option to move, but again Khan believes the team will see how well it does in battling for a post-season berth before heading in that direction. GM Ken Holland seems to be relatively content with the group he has, and with few off-season moves it could be another rough year in Detroit if certain players don’t make incredible strides.
RFA Arbitration Hearings Begin Soon
Although it’s likely that many of these restricted free-agents come to terms with their teams before the hearing dates, the list of set dates has been released. Last year, only one RFA actually made it to their date without a deal. We should see more players actually make it to the arbitration process this year, but how many is unclear. It could be zero, or it could be five.
That said, these arbitration hearings begin in only 11 days, so the crunch is on. Teams will hope to hammer out details with players they hope to lock in for longer than two years. PHR published a preview highlighting players most likely to see a massive pay-raise, but arbitration by its nature can be rather capricious.
According theScore’s Cody Wilkins, the set dates are as follows:
July 20 – Tyler Johnson (Tampa Bay), Colton Parayko (St. Louis), Tomas Tatar (Detroit)
July 21 – Ryan Dzingel (Ottawa), Michael Chaput (Vancouver)
July 22 – Micheal Ferland (Calgary), Viktor Arvidsson (Nashville)
July 24 – Austin Watson (Nashville), Brian Dumoulin (Pittsburgh)
July 25 – Joey LaLeggia (Edmonton), Mika Zibanejad (NY Rangers), Ondrej Palat (Tampa Bay)
July 26 – Jordan Martinook (Arizona), Ryan Spooner (Boston)
July 27 – Robin Lehner (Buffal0), Marek Mazanec (Nashville)
July 28 – Jean-Gabriel Pageau (Ottawa)
July 31 – Matt Nieto (Colorado)
August 1 – Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg), Reid Boucher (Vancouver)
August 2 – Calvin de Haan (NY Islanders), Kevin Gravel (Los Angeles)
August 3 – Nate Schmidt (Vegas), Nino Niederreiter (Minnesota)
August 4 – Mikael Granlund (Minnesota), Conor Sheary (Pittsburgh), Nathan Beaulieu (Buffalo)
Free Agent Profile: Jaromir Jagr
Not many believed that Jagr would be left without a contract over a full week into July. While many Florida fans believed GM Dale Tallon was looking to impress his vision on the franchise in an aggressive way, a return at a reduced cost seemed possible. Barring that, Jagr was sure to draw interest from offense-starved squads. He was listed as our 13th best available UFA for a reason, and yet, there’s been little to no chatter on the Czech star.
Jagr has seen a dip in his value, undeniably. He scored 11 less goals than the previous season; that said, he’s still a lock for 40 points. He’s slowed down quite noticeably, and one can only imagine that is the crux of his issue in attracting suitors. His vision and hands are still world-class, but his speed is an encumbrance to whichever line he’s on. That said, he’s a positive impact player in terms of analytics and fancy possession stats. If you look at his HERO chart (a handy bar-graph representation of advanced stats such as shots suppressed and generated), he performs well above the “prototypical” second-liner. No one in the analytics community seems to understand how such a consistent performer can be left unclaimed at this date. People constantly criticize players like Jagr for poor defensive qualities. There is an element of truth to these claims, as he is certainly hustling harder going north than south. But results, and actual goals against for his lines over the years, show that perhaps he knows something we don’t.
The game is changing, and with faster teams heading deeper into the playoffs, Jagr’s ability to fend off attackers and maintain a cycle is less valuable than it was previously. More rush play, more dump and chase, and less east-west movement through the neutral zone is the way many teams are hoping to push the pac and tilt the ice in their favor. Signing Jagr doesn’t fit that trendy ideology, and that’s the main holdup at this juncture. The amount of teams who are willing to slow the game down, even just on special teams, are becoming fewer and fewer. Ultimately, he will find a home, but it could be a drastic reduction in pay and icetime. Jagr was already getting acclimated to a sheltered role with short shifts, but he may be even more of a utility skater in his new home.
If for nothing else, Jagr is a magician on the powerplay and can pass the puck with ease. He would be a wonderful asset merely as a leader, whose experience and off-ice attributes would benefit the growth of younger players.
Potential Suitors
We originally projected that Jagr would return to the Florida Panthers, as we also believed would be the case for Thomas Vanek. We were wrong on both fronts, as Dale Tallon has opted instead for a massive roster shakeup. Jagr quipped on Twitter that he had no calls this July 1st, although that claim may merely be an attempt to garner greater interest.
A New Jersey reunion might be in the cards. They finished 29th in goals for and Jagr could be relegated to 3rd-line duty with a healthy roster after all of GM Ray Shero’s shuffling. He’s certainly not going to lead the team in scoring, but in the tough Metro division it’s difficult to see them making the playoffs anyway. In what should be a year to build upon, and with multiple youngsters (Nico Hischier, Pavel Zacha) looking to cement themselves in the league, what better role model than Jagr to provide leadership and calm? The team could also do to add NHL proven forwards – they have the second fewest organizational contracts at 33, and many are not ready for prime-time.
Although they’re not the ideal landing spot, the New York Islanders seemingly always need a little extra fire power. They too have the disadvantage of trying to survive in the high-flying Metro, and Tavares could use another piece on the powerplay to bring it back to respectability (they finished with a 15% conversion rate in 2016-17). Again, his leadership abilities on a relatively young squad would provide a good example. He can also still manufacture chances on his own, and outside of Tavares, the team still struggles with that for long stretches. Pair him with one of their many two-way forwards, such as Josh Bailey, and his minimal defensive shortcomings won’t be as impactful. Cap room on an internal basis is an issue, but Jagr is getting cheaper by the day.
Many teams could take a flier on a one year deal. At 45 years-old, it would be highly unlikely to make a significant commitment to him. Arizona and Colorado could both certainly use the offensive help, but they both moved on from their own free agent old-timers in Shane Doan in Jarome Iginla, so both seem unlikely. Carolina already added a greybeard in Justin Williams, but scoring depth couldn’t hurt there. Vancouver is already incredibly old, so why not double down at this point and help out your special teams? And there’s always the possibility that Jagr finally decides to take a paycut to chase after a final championship. It has been since 1992 for him.
Expected Contract
Jagr will continue to wait away in free agency limbo for some time. This may be his final contract, but it’s difficult to determine how important competitiveness of the team will be to him. I think he stays in the East, namely New Jersey, for one year at a measly $1.75 MM. It won’t delay the rebuild, which is necessary in Newark, but it will keep the team just above water in the division. I’m not certain Shero wants to gamble on a total tank, as we saw how well that worked for Colorado in the recent draft. They ultimately need proven forwards to round out the roster, and the price is right to buy low.
The Latest On Tomas Tatar’s Negotiations
One of the bigger names still waiting on a deal is the Detroit Red Wings’ Tomas Tatar, who is due a huge raise. All has been quiet in Detroit outside of the fact that Tatar filed for arbitration, which was suspected. But George Malik, of Kuklas Korner, found this interview that shed some light on what’s going on between Detroit and Tatar:
“Arbitration is the last option, I have to sign off, it’s just a mandatory contract. Unless I agree with Detroit, I’ll go to the court, where they’ll give me a year’s contract. That would probably be my last season in Detroit. We’ll see in a few days or weeks before it all comes together,” said Tatar.
The Athletic’s Craig Custance looks further into the issue, pointing out that should Detroit only sign Tatar to a year, it would certainly help the rebuilding process in terms of what Tatar could rein in at the deadline. At the same time, he wonders why the Red Wings, who already have an overabundance of bad contracts, would want to extend Tatar for a long time when the team is clearly not going to be anywhere near contender status in the near future. But Custance, after getting a “no comment” from general manager Ken Holland, makes a very astute point:
Put another way, only 30 NHL players have scored more goals in that three-year span than Tatar. That comes with a cost, and for an organization that was willing to pay Justin Abdelkader, Darren Helm and Gustav Nyquist market value, this would be the odd one in which to take a hard line on.
The money owed to Helm and Abdelkader alone makes this perplexing to any Red Wings fan. Both received generous offers in comparison to their ho-hum production. Tatar is a slam dunk. If the Red Wings are truly “rebuilding on the fly,” as Holland as said for has nearly been five seasons, he finds a way to extend Tatar for multiple years. But this team isn’t set up to do much. Though the Athletic’s Sean Tierney shows that the Red Wings made slight gains in goal scoring, it’s just that: slight. Detroit has the fourth oldest roster in hockey, which only pushes the notion that they should be looking to get younger.
The Red Wings, whether or not the front office wants to admit it, are a shell of what they once were. Though Holland’s goal is to make the playoffs next season, he’s returning a roster that is nearly identical to the same squad who mustered just 79 points. That seems like a farfetched goal. But if the playoffs are truly in their crosshairs, Tatar’s signing is a critical piece to returning.
Kevin Klein Retires From NHL
After a report surfaced last month that Kevin Klein was considering retirement, the New York Rangers have announced the defenseman will indeed hang up his skates and retire at the age of 32. Klein played just 60 games last year while battling through a back injury.
Klein began his career with the Nashville Predators and played for nearly a decade there before being traded to the Rangers for Michael Del Zotto. While Del Zotto spent just half a season with the Predators before heading to Philadelphia, Klein would remain in New York and turn into one of their most important defensive pieces. Scoring 52 points over two seasons from 2014-16, Klein was one of the most clutch performers for the team during that time with eight game winning goals including several in overtime.
He’ll finish his NHL career with 154 points in 627 games, while playing in 73 playoff contests without ever hoisting the Stanley Cup. His retirement may actually help the Rangers though, as his $2.9MM cap hit will come off the books immediately. With Mika Zibanejad still to sign, the Rangers were going to be very tight to the salary cap for the upcoming season. Klein is leaving with just one year remaining on his current contract.