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Draft Snapshots: Draft Pick Trades, Matthews

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The Devils and Senators swapped picks in the first round. The Devils dealt the 11th overall pick to Ottawa for their 12th overall pick and 80th overall pick. Ottawa selected C Logan Brown, whose father coaches Ottawa’s OHL team and has family in Ottawa. The Devils used the pick to draft C Michael McLeod.

Other Draft notes:

  • The Flyers traded for the Jets 22nd and 36th overall picks while giving up their 18th and 79th overall picks.
  • The Capitals dealt their 26th overall pick to St. Louis for their 28th overall pick and 87th overall pick.
  • #1 overall pick Auston Matthews was thrilled to be selected by the Maple Leafs, no matter the long road they still have to competing for a Stanley Cup.  Matt Larkin from The Hockey News writes that Matthews was “euphoric” on being a Maple Leaf after the Arizona native seemed less than excited following the revelation that the Leafs would pick first. Matthews is the first American to be drafted first overall since Patrick Kane in 2007.

Senators Sign Buddy Robinson To 1-Year Deal

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Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston tweeted that the Senators have signed Buddy Robinson to a 1-year, $750,000 contract.  Ottawa also confirmed the deal as a two-way contract.

Robinson played three games at the NHL level last season, notching a goal and an assist. While playing 62 games for AHL affiliate Binghamton, Robinson had 23 points (13-10).

In other Senators news, Johnston reports that the team will be making decisions on RW Alex Chiasson, and D Patrick Wiercioch. Both are restricted free agents and have been the subject of trade talks.

Free Agent Focus: Ottawa Senators

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After a season in 2014-15 that saw the Ottawa Senators put up 99 points and make the playoffs, last year was a big disappointment. Despite having a legitimate superstar in Erik Karlsson on the blueline, Ottawa went just 38-35-9 and missed the playoffs by 8 points. Karlsson put up 82 points and is a candidate to win his third Norris trophy, and would hide a lot of flaws on any team with his exceptional possession and offensive numbers.

With a very young roster, the team is another cap-floor team like Carolina (which we profiled earlier today) and won’t spend anywhere near the $71MM cap. They do however have some important names to re-sign if they want to build this core together. Here’s a look at their upcoming offseason:

Key Restricted Free Agent: LW Mike Hoffman – Following Hoffman’s breakout 2014-15 season where he scored 27 goals, the former 5th round pick improved in almost every category this season.  Racking up 29 goals and 59 points, the 6’1″ winger moved to a spot on the top line and flourished in his new role, averaging almost 18 minutes a night.

Hoffman will turn 27 next season and will be looking for a long-term deal with the Senators this summer; paid $2MM last season, he’s earned a much bigger deal this time around.  If the Senators aren’t willing to commit long-term to the Kitchener, Ontario native, Hoffman could sign a one-year deal and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. If he could hit that 30-goal mark in 2016-17, he’d be in for a huge payday.

Other RFAs: C Ryan Dzingel, RW Alex Chiasson, RW Buddy Robinson, LW Matt Puempel, D Fredrik Claesson, D Cody Ceci, D Patrick Wiercioch

Key Unrestricted Free Agent: None. The Senators only have two players hitting UFA status this summer, and both Scott Gomez and Mike Kostka are insignificant to their future plans.  The 36-year old Gomez hasn’t been an effective NHL player in years, and Kostka is a minor-league journeyman who has never had NHL success.

Projected Cap Space: $17.5MM, 18 players under contract.

The blockbuster deal to bring over Dion Phaneuf from the Toronto Maple Leafs last season made a huge impact on the Sens’ salary structure going forward, inducing a cap hit of $7MM a season for the next five. Fortunately for Ottawa, Phaneuf’s deal was front-loaded and they’ll only be paying him $5.5MM in his age-35 season, despite the big cap hit.

It’s the NMC in his deal that may be troublesome for the Senators, as he’ll have automatic protection in next year’s expansion draft.  With Karlsson obviously also needing it, the Senators will only have one more defenceman protection slot to use on their other young blueliners.

Overall, the team is in good shape going forward without many anchoring contracts, and a large crop of young players.  They’ll try to get back to the playoffs this season, and may sign a veteran or two to help lead the group there.

Coaching Notes: Groulx, Shaw, Pollock

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After being confirmed earlier this week that Glen Gulutzan would be hired as the Calgary Flames head coach, the team held a press conference Friday to officially announce him. Gulutzan will try to take the Flames back to the playoffs after an underwhelming season in which they 35-40-7 and were surrounded by controversy all season, from Dennis Wideman’s collision with an official and eventual suspension and appeal, to the benching of star players Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan for “disciplinary reasons”. He’ll come in as a much different voice than outgoing coach Bob Hartley, and will try to instill a different tone in the locker room.

Here are more coaching notes from around the league:

  • The Ottawa Senators have hired Pierre Groulx as their next goalie coach, replacing the outgoing Rick Wamsley who was jettisoned along with head coach Dave Cameron and the rest of the staff in April. Groulx, formerly the goalie coach in Florida and Montreal, will lead a group that allowed the third most goals in the NHL last season, and had poor performances throughout the season. Number 1 goaltender Craig Anderson should appreciate the familiar face; Groulx was his coach for three years in Florida.
  • Former St. Louis Blues’ assistant Brad Shaw has been brought into Columbus to work with head coach John Tortorella according to Aaron Portzline with the Columbus Dispatch. Shaw spent nine seasons with the Blues, and actually was the New York Islanders’ head coach for half a season in 2005-06, after the firing of Steve Stirling midway through a disappointing year.
  • According to Gary Lawless of TSN, while not as a coach, Richard Pollock has been hired by the Florida Panthers as a pro scout. This comes after the organization has changed direction in scouting, firing long time director Scott Luce and hiring the more analytics-based Cam Lawrence and Josh Weissbock. Former Panther and veteran-NHLer Bryan McCabe, currently the team’s manager of player development, has also taken a larger role.

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