Morning Notes: Dzingel, Hall, Kadri
Ryan Dzingel is arguably the top remaining unrestricted free agent, ranked No. 12 overall by PHR and the leading scorer this past season among all available names. Yet, there’s been surprisingly little noise surrounding Dzingel, a 27-year-old coming off of a career high’s across the board. The New York Post’s Larry Brooks writes that some teams are skeptical about Dzingel’s potential for production, not based on his year overall but rather his late-season stint with the Columbus Blue Jackets. After being moved at the NHL Trade Deadline by the Ottawa Senators, Dzingel recorded just 12 points in 21 games with Columbus and eventually lost the trust of the coaching staff in the postseason, with one point in nine games earning him a healthy scratch. Brooks remarks that the Blue Jackets’ lack of interest in retaining Dzingel, a former star at nearby Ohio State University, is one of several “red flags” for the young winger this off-season.
It’s likely that price is playing a role in Dzingel’s market as well. After a 56-point campaign, Dzingel’s camp was though to be seeking a $5MM AAV over a long-term contract. In a vacuum, that would seem to be a fair offer, but in a market where many teams are closer to the salary cap limit than expected, a player who is coming off a disappointing final few months of the season may need to lower his expectations. That rings especially true if he wants to land with one of his reported top destinations and a team known to have interest, the Chicago Blackhawks. Dzingel is an Illinois native and his skill set would seem to fit in perfectly with his hometown Blackhawks, who could still use another top-six winger. However, The Chicago Sun-Times’ Ben Pope writes that the team would have to move out a player, likely Artem Anisimov or Connor Murphy, to accommodate Dzingel’s salary demands. Until that happens, Pope cites GM Stan Bowman, who recently said his roster is “pretty full” and currently only in need of “housekeeping”. That doesn’t mean that Chicago, whose off-season moves have pointed toward a deep desire to return to contender status, will not continue to pursue Dzingel, but it may prove too difficult at his current asking price. If the scoring winger wants to ensure he has a long-term fit in a place that he’d like to be, Dzingel could consider taking a lesser deal to join the Blackhawks.
- Another team looking to return to the playoffs are the New Jersey Devils and GM Ray Shero and company have certainly done their part in that pursuit this summer, drafting Jack Hughes, trading for P.K. Subban, and signing Wayne Simmonds. While the ultimate goal is to become a contender as soon as possible, the more pressing need – also with that goal in mind – is to convince superstar forward Taylor Hall that New Jersey is a team worth staying with to win a Stanley Cup. Hall is an impending free agent next summer and could be in line for a record-breaking contract, whether he tests the open market or not. The Devils have the cap space to meet his salary demands, but needed to focus this off-season on improving the talent around him after a season in which the team finished well outside the playoff picture. On paper, New Jersey should return to relevance next season and early indications are that Hall is happy with the transformation. In an interview with TSN, the 2018 Hart Trophy winner said that seeing the summer used to improve the talent level of the team and inject new blood after a disappointing campaign is exactly what you want to see. He added that Shero asked his opinion of the Subban trade before it was made and that he was totally on board and excited to play with his fellow star. All signs point to Hall being in favor of these off-season changes and eager to get started with the new season. If the Devils perform to the level they should on paper, Hall will have much more reason to consider a long-term extension to stay in New Jersey.
- New Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri could have gone elsewhere if he wanted. The Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons reports that Kadri flexed his No-Trade Clause to block a trade to the Calgary Flames. Even after taking calls from Flames GM Brad Treliving and head coach Bill Peters, Kadri nixed a deal that would have seen he and Connor Brown, now an Ottawa Senator, go to Calgary in exchange for T.J. Brodie and Mark Jankowski. Simmons did not explain why Kadri was anti-Calgary, but did note that the fit in Colorado is better. As for the end result for the Leafs, Tyson Barrie and Alexander Kerfoot are a better package, but cost the the team young defenseman Calle Rosen, who Simmons states they did not wish to move, as well as a third-round pick. Also, Brodie would have been a more affordable defenseman to re-sign compare to Barrie, who could very well price himself out of Toronto after one year. It’s a toss up on which deal would have been better had Kadri not put his foot down.
Ottawa Senators Sign Christian Wolanin
The Ottawa Senators have inked one of their young restricted free agents, signing Christian Wolanin to a two-year deal. The contract is a two-way deal in the first year that will pay him $800K in the NHL and $100K in the AHL, while the second year is a one-way contract and carries a $1MM salary. Wolanin will still be a restricted free agent at the end of the deal, as long as he plays in 40 NHL games over the duration.
Wolanin, 24, played 30 games for the Senators in 2018-19, recording 12 points and generally looking quite capable at the NHL level. In the AHL he was even better, recording 31 points to actually finish the season as the highest scoring defenseman on the team despite suiting up just 40 times. That success likely has him in line for a full-time NHL role, though after signing Ron Hainsey the team could potentially lean a different way. Wolanin’s future might also depend on how well top prospect Erik Brannstrom looks in training camp, since he is still waiver-exempt.
Still, some financial stability is worth it at this point for the fourth-round pick. Wolanin took his game to the University of North Dakota for three seasons after being drafted so he is only now coming off his entry-level deal. The $1MM in year two means he’ll be owed at least that much as a qualifying offer in the summer of 2021, when he likely will be eligible for arbitration.
Marc Methot Considering Retirement
Veteran defenseman Marc Methot had a tough go of it in Dallas, playing in a combined 45 games over the last two seasons with the team. Battling lingering injury issues in his left knee, Methot has been sidelined for most of the past two years and hit the free agent market this summer with next to no noise thanks to questions about his health moving forward. To make matters worse, Methot underwent a cartilage replacement surgery last month that will extend his on-ice absence even further.
With all of these prominent questions and concerns, it should come as little surprise that the 34-year-old is at least considering retirement. Marc Brassard of leDroit reports that Methot is continuing to rehab after his recent surgery, but is unsure if he will be able to play next season. That does not mean that the respected veteran couldn’t continue to work at getting in game shape and try his hand at next summer’s market. After all, Methot is just a few years removed from being one of the league’s top shutdown defenders, a title he held for the better part of this decade with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Ottawa Senators. However, Brasssard believes that he is strongly considering hanging it up instead.
Brassard also points out that Methot has a desire to work in sports media, which could also drive his decision to retire. Methot will get a try out on Thursday, when he joins TSN 1200 Radio in Ottawa as a guest host. The appearance could also act to further update his playing status, so stay tuned.
Snapshots: Panarin, McGinn, Greening
It was hard to miss Artemi Panarin‘s free agency decision on Monday, as an all-world player landed in the largest market in North America. However, what wasn’t clear right away was how Panarin’s new seven-year, $81.5MM contract with the New York Rangers was structured. CapFriendly has cleared that up, revealing the terms of the monster deal. To no surprise, the details continue to favor the star forward. While Panarin’s contract carries an $11.643MM cap hit, he will in fact make a salary of just $1MM each year. What this means is that Panarin’s deal includes nearly $75MM in signing bonuses, making the contract virtually buyout-proof. The bonuses role out in descending order, beginning with a $13MM bonus this season down to a $7MM bonus in 2025-26. Also unsurprisingly, Panarin’s deal includes a full No-Movement Clause. The investment in the 27-year-old Panarin, who has topped 70 points in each of his four NHL seasons, is pretty safe, which is lucky for the Rangers since is contract is all but immovable.
- The deadline to file for salary arbitration is coming up, and the first name to file has been revealed. Speaking with media, including the Raleigh News & Observer’s Chip Alexander, Carolina Hurricanes GM Don Waddell noted that forward Brock McGinn has filed for arbitration. McGinn, 25, has emerged as a regular contributor for the ‘Canes over the past two years, missing only two games and posting back-to-back seasons of 25+ points. He additionally contributed six points in 15 playoff games during the run to the Eastern Conference Final this year. McGinn is also one of Carolina’s most physical forwards and plays a role on the penalty kill. Yet, his ice time is still somewhat limited, particularly playing sheltered minutes to do some turnover tendencies. The Hurricanes will try to support their filing number by pointing out McGinn’s relatively minor role and lack of overall career results, while the player side will emphasize the recent climb in scoring and ice time and his platform year being arguably his best season to date and coinciding in a return to the postseason for Carolina. Waddell, who recently joked that the Sebastian Aho offer sheet had freed up his summer due to a lack of contract negotiations, is not out of the woods yet, with McGinn filing, Trevor Carrick, Anton Forsberg, and Saku Maenalanen eligible to file, and several other restricted free agents in need of extensions.
- Veteran forward Colin Greening has called it a career reports Toronto Marlies reporter Jacob Stoller. Although Greening has played solely for the Marlies over the past three seasons, he logged close to 300 NHL games with the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs, including a 37-point season in 2011-12. Greening’s NHL production certainly declined as his career went on, but as he transitioned to a minor league leadership role, Greening ended up being both a reliable source of scoring and a key locker room presence. Greening will likely be remembered most for captaining the Marlies to the 2018 Calder Cup, as well as his dominant college career at Cornell University.
Ottawa Senators Re-Sign Nick Paul
The Ottawa Senators have signed restricted free agent Nick Paul to a one-year two-way contract, keeping him in the organization for another season. The deal carries a $750K salary at the NHL level, and could take Paul to Group VI unrestricted free agency if he fails to play in at least 24 NHL games next season.
Paul, 24, has been used as an emergency call-up for the Senators many times over the last several years, playing in 56 contests across four seasons. Mostly he has spent that time in a fourth-line role to give the team a big body, but at the minor league level he’s much more than that. Scoring 39 points in 43 games for the Belleville Senators last season he helped the young group including Drake Batherson, Logan Brown and Filip Chlapik compete every night. That’s likely the role he’ll have again in 2019-20, though he will fight for a roster spot in the NHL during a wide open training camp.
The Senators have just eight forwards on one-way contracts for next season, and there will certainly be competition for the final few spots. The team is set on building towards the future, and with players like Mikkel Boedker, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Tyler Ennis all on one-year deals that lead to unrestricted free agency, more spots could potentially open up throughout the year.
Senators Sign Forward Jordan Szwarz
The Ottawa Senators continue to bring in talent from their division rivals, signing former Providence Bruins captain Jordan Szwarz per a team release. It is a one-year, two-way contract for Szwarz worth $800K in the NHL. Szwarz, 28, has skated in 47 NHL games with the Bruins and Coyotes in his career.
Szwarz, 28, has been an excellent minor league player for nearly a decade, and is coming off his third consecutive 20 goal season for the Providence Bruins. That kind of offensive consistency at the AHL level is exactly what the Belleville Senators were looking for, after their team was led almost entirely by young prospects that will likely be graduating to the NHL in the upcoming years.
Sabres Sign Andrew Hammond
“The Hamburglar” is making his next appearance in Buffalo. The Sabres have announced a one-year contract with Andrew Hammond worth the NHL minimum $700K. The veteran goalie should slot in as the team’s No. 3 keeper next season.
Buffalo had hoped that this was the year that stud goaltending prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen might take over full-time duties in Rochester, but the prospect underwent hip surgery in April which could miss a large chunk of the season and therefore would be better off as a backup option once he returns. Hence the addition of Hammond. The 31-year-old known for impressive streaks, including an incredible run while he was with the Ottawa Senators in the 2014-15 season in which he posted a 1.79 GAA and a .941 save percentage in 24 games for them. Unfortunately for Hammond, he also had just as many streaks where he was unsuccessful, making for a very streaky goaltender.
He has played just 56 total NHL games over his career and spent last season as the third-string option for the Minnesota Wild, but was not able to beat out backup Alex Stalock and served as the starting netminder with the Iowa Wild in the AHL. He played 33 games for Iowa, putting up a 2.81 GAA and a .910 save percentage, but never played a game for Minnesota.
While Buffalo’s goaltending situation looks solid in Carter Hutton and Linus Ullmark, neither goalie posted great numbers and if one of them falters, the team might feel comfortable calling up Hammond.
Senators Unlikely To Re-Sign Oscar Lindberg And Brian Gibbons
- The Senators aren’t expected to re-sign center Oscar Lindberg and winger Brian Gibbons, notes Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch (Twitter link). Both players were brought in near the trade deadline and Gibbons in particular finished up quite strong with 14 points in 20 games with Ottawa. Meanwhile, Lindberg didn’t fare so well but as a 27-year-old pivot with a few decent years under his belt, he should have quite a few suitors on the open market.
Senators Expected To Sign Ron Hainsey And Tyler Ennis
A pair of former Maple Leafs appear to be on their way to Ottawa. The Senators are closing in on signing forward Tyler Ennis to a one-year contract, reports David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period (Twitter link). TSN’s Bob McKenzie adds (Twitter link) that defenseman Ron Hainsey is also expected to sign with the Sens. Financial terms of the contract for Ennis aren’t yet known while Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that Hainsey’s deal will carry a $3.5MM AAV.
Ennis spent last season with Toronto after being bought out by Minnesota in June of 2018. He fared relatively well in a limited role, managing to collect 18 points in 51 games despite averaging less than ten minutes a night of playing time, predominantly in a fourth line role.
It’s likely that Ennis will get a larger opportunity with Ottawa as he joins a roster that’s not as deep as Toronto’s. It could be a good fit for both sides as the 29-year-old looks to prove that he can still be more of an offensive contributor while the Sens could conceivably flip him in a trade later next season to a team looking for more depth for the stretch run. Ennis slotted in 41st on our Top 50 UFA Rankings.
Meanwhile, Hainsey wound up playing a big role with Toronto last season, averaging over 20 minutes a night on their back end for the second straight year. While they had hoped to limit his ice time considering his age (38), he wound up spending most of the year in their top four, something that’s likely to be the case with Ottawa. He’s expected to be a mentor on what’s a very young back end and, like Ennis, he immediately becomes a potential midseason trade candidate. Hainsey earned the 29th spot in our UFA Rankings.
Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Nikita Zaitsev
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators have finalized a trade that will see Nikita Zaitsev and Cody Ceci swap teams. The Maple Leafs will send Zaitsev, Connor Brown and Michael Carcone to the Senators in exchange for Ceci, Ben Harpur, Aaron Luchuk and a 2020 third-round draft pick (originally from Columbus). The trade had to wait until today so that Toronto could pay out Zaitsev’s $3MM signing bonus, though technically that also meant he needed to waive the partial no-trade clause that has kicked in.
Zaitsev, 27, has five years left on his current contract and carries a $4.5MM cap hit, something the Maple Leafs needed to get out from under as they continue to work on an extension for restricted free agent Mitch Marner. The Russian defenseman signed a long-term deal with the club after an excellent rookie season in 2017 but saw his offensive numbers regress drastically as head coach Mike Babcock used him more and more in a shutdown role. That role never seemed like a perfect fit for the smooth-skating Zaitsev, who is used much more offensively at the international level with the Russian national team.
A capable penalty killer, he immediately becomes the Senators’ most expensive defenseman and reunites with former Maple Leafs assistant coach D.J. Smith who is now the boss in Ottawa. Zaitsev will likely be leaned on heavily for the Senators, who have plenty of inexperience on their blue line at the moment.
If not for this trade Ceci, 25, would have become the highest paid defender for the Senators as he was a year ago. Sitting currently as a restricted free agent he does have the option to file for salary arbitration but could also just elect to accept his $4.3MM qualifying offer. That may be the more prudent decision in this case, as heading to arbitration likely gives the Maple Leafs a chance to walk away from the decision altogether. It’s not clear what Toronto’s plans for Ceci are at this point.
Of the other pieces in the deal, Brown is clearly the most valuable. The bottom-six forward is heading into the final year of his current contract that carries a $2.1MM cap hit but is a useful player that can contribute in various situations. A 20-goal scorer as a rookie in 2016-17, the last two seasons have seen his goal totals drop dramatically as more talent was brought into the Toronto lineup. The sixth-round pick eventually found himself suiting up most nights on the fourth line, though he was still a favorite of Babcock’s on the penalty kill. The 25-year old will likely receive a bigger opportunity in Ottawa and could set himself up for another solid contract next summer with some improved offensive numbers.
Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion released a statement on his newest players:
“We’re bringing in highly competitive players that we like as long-term fits for our team. Both are the type of true professionals who match with the culture we want to put in place here in Ottawa,. Nikita is a physical right-shot defenceman who defends hard, fills lanes and blocks shots. Connor has scored 20 goals in the league and is excellent on the forecheck and the penalty kill. We feel both players will add to our depth and fit well within the structure we want our team to play.
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