Latest On Elias Pettersson
After the Vancouver Canucks wrapped up a busy offseason of UFA signings mostly focused on fortifying their defense, everyone is now watching Elias Pettersson‘s contract situation as the 2023-24 season approaches. The star center is heading into the final year of his three-year bridge contract, carrying a $7.35MM million cap hit, signed in 2021. While the Canucks will still retain his rights next summer as a restricted free agent if an extension isn’t reached soon, Pettersson’s potential eligibility for unrestricted free agency in 2025 if he only signs a one-year extension has given him tremendous leverage in upcoming negotiations. His agent, J.P. Barry, said early last month he doesn’t anticipate beginning those extension talks with Vancouver until the end of this summer.
Today, The Athletic’s Harman Dayal polled a number of NHL agents on what potential scenarios could arise in Pettersson extension talks. Obviously, the biggest question facing Pettersson’s camp is whether he should sign an extension immediately this summer or take a wait-and-see approach into the season. Waiting would offer him more clarity on the Canucks’ future and potentially enhance his earning power if he continues his upward climb. If the team can finally perform well after a long stretch of mediocrity, Pettersson may feel more comfortable committing long-term.
One anonymous agent suggested a wait-and-see approach could be sensible but said not to discount the mental challenges that a contract year can place on a player and, in turn, affect their performance. If Pettersson and his camp feel the outside noise of extension talks during the season would be too much of a distraction, signing now would almost definitely be a better choice to avoid lowering his value after a 102-point year last season. It’s likely something Pettersson will heavily consider after going through the contract-related pressure Pettersson faced in the final year of his entry-level contract in 2020-21, Dayal says.
Another factor affecting the timing of negotiations is whether Pettersson’s camp wants to wait for Auston Matthews‘ extension, as it could introduce a new comparable, another agent said. Pettersson’s value may have been tampered slightly by a recent comparable – Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho, who signed an eight-year extension last month carrying a $9.75MM cap hit. If Matthews’ extension in Toronto comes in north of $12MM, it could strengthen Pettersson’s case for an eight-figure cap hit on a long-term deal.
While eight-year deals are the norm for players with high cap hits, an agent Dayal spoke to said shorter contracts have become more attractive due to the expected rise in the salary cap. Signing a shorter contract could allow Pettersson to capitalize on a higher salary cap when he re-enters the market in his late 20s.
Of note, former Vancouver Canucks assistant general manager Chris Gear predicted a cap hit between $9.5MM and $10.25MM on Pettersson’s next deal last month.
Sven Baertschi Announces Retirement
August 3: Baertschi has confirmed his retirement in a statement from SC Bern, citing health concerns. “Like most players, I’ve had a number of injuries that are now taking their toll,” Baertschi said. “After months of training, I realized that my body can no longer perform as well as I need it to. And playing with less than 100 percent, I can’t accept that.”
August 2: Left winger Sven Baertschi left the NHL for Europe last offseason, and after just one year overseas, Swiss outlet Blick reports that Baertschi is retiring with two seasons left on his contract with NL club SC Bern. The Swiss forward is stepping away from the game at 30 years old after accumulating 138 points in 292 games with the Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks and Vegas Golden Knights between 2012 and 2022.
The first three and a half seasons of his career were spent in Calgary, who selected him with the 13th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft after he put up 85 points in 66 games with the WHL’s Portland Winter Hawks. However, concussion issues quickly derailed a promising career after a trade to the Vancouver Canucks in 2015. He would never eclipse the 70-game mark in a single season with the club and never played more than 53 after his first reported concussion in 2016-17.
While he never found his footing in Calgary, he did post some solid numbers in a middle-six role for the Canucks before injuries stunted his play. His career-best campaign came in that 2016-17 season when he recorded 18 goals, 17 assists and 35 points in 68 games while averaging nearly 16 minutes per game.
After four injury-riddled seasons with the Canucks, Baertschi continued to slip down the depth chart and spent most of the 2019-20 and 2020-21 campaigns in the minors on assignment with the AHL’s Utica Comets. It looked like he had gotten his mojo back in that first campaign with Utica, recording 46 points in just 43 games, but he didn’t make the Canucks out of camp in 2020-21, and his production quickly trailed off.
He signed with the Vegas Golden Knights as a free agent the following offseason, where he again provided solid but unimpressive production for their minor-league affiliate, the Henderson Silver Knights. He did get into one game with Vegas in November 2021, skating 13:54 in a 5-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings. That will be his final NHL game. Playing in his home city of Bern last season, he produced well below expectations with just four goals in 36 games.
PHR extends its best wishes to Baertschi in retirement, especially in regards to his long-term health.
Snapshots: Lindholm, Wild, Islanders
Calgary Flames center Elias Lindholm is one of the biggest potentially available names on the trade market. Potentially is the operative word there, as things still remain up in the air about whether the 28-year-old will consider re-signing in Calgary with his contract set to expire next summer. If he does hit the trade market, however, The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie and Shayna Goldman today examined some potential fits for his services.
The most obvious of these is the Boston Bruins. As we mentioned last week, the team is not shy about looking to replace the roles of David Krejčí and Patrice Bergeron by any means possible. Lindholm, who finished second in Selke Trophy voting in 2022 and posted positive relative Corsi for percentages in the first four of his five seasons in Calgary, is easily the closest stylistic replacement for Bergeron available in terms of his two-way acumen. However, as McKenzie and Goldman rightly note, the likelihood of the Bruins being unable to pony up the assets needed to win a bidding war for Lindholm is high, given the rather ghoulish state of their prospect pool and draft pick stash. McKenzie and Goldman also mentioned the Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Minnesota Wild, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Vancouver Canucks as teams with a need for center help and assets available to spend.
More from around the NHL today:
- The Minnesota Wild’s offseason hasn’t been dominated by the moves they’ve made, but rather the moves they can’t make because of $14.75MM in dead cap allocated to the buyouts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise. With their combined cap hits set to decrease to just $1.67MM ahead of the 2025-26 season, Joe Smith and Michael Russo of The Athletic examined what options the additional cap space might open up for the Wild in two seasons. They note the biggest use of that cap space will undoubtedly be an extension for star winger Kirill Kaprizov, who will be entering the final season of his five-year, $45MM contract and will require a hefty extension to avoid him becoming a free agent.
- While we covered some New York Islanders items of interest from The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz in a notes piece yesterday, Kurz also mentioned in his mailbag that he envisions 2023-24 being the last season of ‘The Identity Line’ on Long Island. Made up of Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck, the line has been in existence for the better part of a decade, coming together in 2014-15 and taking a two-year break from 2016 to 2018 while Martin was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. In that time, they’ve been recognizable as the team’s most consistent unit, providing a desirable mix of defensive acumen, fighting skill and forechecking that set the tone for a number of deep playoff runs over the past while in New York. Martin and Clutterbuck are now both in their mid-30s, and as they’re set to become UFAs next summer, Kurz thinks it’s a strong possibility that one (or both) don’t return to the team. Clutterbuck especially has become injury-prone in his twilight years, not playing more than 70 games in a season since 2018-19.
Edmonton Oilers Name Jeff Jackson CEO Of Hockey Operations
The Edmonton Oilers have named former player agent Jeff Jackson their CEO of hockey operations, according to a team release.
In his new role, Jackson will report directly to team owner Daryl Katz and serve as an alternate governor on the NHL Board of Governors. Regarding hockey operations specifics, Jackson ” will work closely with Ken Holland, who continues in his role as President of Hockey Operations and General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers and will report to Jackson.”
As Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman writes, Jackson’s hiring is “a big move in NHL business circles.” Jackson spent eight seasons playing pro hockey before joining the Toronto Maple Leafs organization in 2006 in an executive role. He served as a key hockey operations decision-maker for four seasons and played a significant role in the management of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies.
Fans more recently may recognize Jackson’s name as the agent for some of the league’s biggest names. According to PuckPedia, the total contract value of Jackson’s clients is over $218MM, including some high-profile clients such as Aaron Ekblad, Alex DeBrincat, and Quinton Byfield. Easily the biggest-name client under Jackson’s watch prior to this hiring was Connor McDavid, the best player in the game today and the person the Oilers’ franchise is built around.
While it’s too early to know the full implications of this hiring, it’s not difficult to see it as the Oilers deepening their commitment and ties to McDavid as the face of their franchise. They’re hiring someone with a strong pre-existing relationship with their most important player, who happens to be inching ever closer to unrestricted free agency in 2026. Having Jackson now installed as a key executive for the Oilers is sure to make the process of locking McDavid down to a contract extension easier.
Additionally, as the Edmonton Sun’s Terry Jones notes, this move could be seen as the Oilers succession planning for their next day-to-day manager of hockey operations decision-making after Ken Holland. There has been no indication that Holland, 67, has any plans on moving on from his role as Oilers GM (nor have there been indications of Edmonton’s desire to move on from him) but adding Jackson into the mix in his aforementioned role would likely put him in prime position to take over for Holland whenever the day comes that a replacement is needed.
At that point, Jackson’s background as executive vice president at Wasserman Hockey, one of the NHL’s largest agencies, will likely become a significant asset for the Oilers. This is a franchise desperate to capitalize on having two of the game’s greatest players under contract and finally win their first Stanley Cup since 1990. McDavid is the key to doing so, and now having Jackson in a major role only serves to deepen the organization’s commitment to a McDavid-centric future.
Minor Transactions: 08/03/23
It’ll likely be another busy day for player movement around the world of pro hockey as many clubs are still looking to secure quality players for next season. As always, we’ll keep track of the notable moves made in those minor and foreign leagues.
- Star AHL scorer Riley Barber is headed overseas for the first time in his pro career. The 29-year-old has signed a one-year deal with Barys Astana in the KHL, and heads to Kazakhstan after an extremely productive 2022-23 campaign. Barber scored 32 goals and 64 points last season, leading the AHL’s Texas Stars in scoring. Barber has hovered around the point-per-game mark in terms of scoring almost every season since his 55-point rookie campaign in 2015-16, but he didn’t get into any NHL games last season. Now he’ll join other former AHLers in Jeremy Bracco, Eddie Pasquale, and Pontus Åberg in the Kazakh capital.
- 2017 Carolina Hurricanes second-round pick Luke Martin has signed a contract with Liiga’s HIFK Helsinki, according to a team announcement. Martin spent four seasons playing college hockey at the University of Michigan after he was drafted before beginning his pro career in earnest in 2021-22. He spent most of the year in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies, scoring 43 points in 59 games and earning ECHL All-Rookie team honors. This past season Martin was an ECHL All-Star scoring 25 points in 25 games with the Jacksonville Icemen, a scoring pace that earned him a 28-game run in the AHL with the Colorado Eagles from January through March. Now 24, Martin will join HIFK looking to play a heavy dose of minutes in one of Europe’s best leagues likely with the hope that a strong performance there will earn him a look from an NHL club.
- HIFK have also signed former St. Louis Blues defenseman Petteri Lindbohm, adding another experienced name to their blueline. The 29-year-old is receiving a three-year contract to play in the Finnish capital, a deal that is commensurate with his status as a high-quality defenseman in European leagues. Lindbohm has 49 NHL games on his resume and won a gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics and 2019 IIHF Men’s World Championships. Lindbohm spent last season with Frölunda HC in the SHL, scoring 14 points in 58 games while averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per night. He’ll likely be a minutes-eating defenseman at HIFK as well, and he could be a major help to their efforts to go to return to Liiga’s semifinals next season or potentially beyond if things break right.
- Former Florida Panthers prospect Max Gildon has signed a one-year contract in the DEL with Adler Mannheim. The 24-year-old was the 66th overall pick at the 2017 draft, selected out of the U.S. National Team Development Program. He spent three seasons playing college hockey with the University of New Hampshire, culminating in a 2019-20 campaign that saw him post an impressive 29 points in 34 games. Gildon got off to a fast start to his pro career scoring 19 points in 32 games with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, on a loan from the Panthers. That got him named to the AHL’s All-Rookie team for 2020-21, but he wouldn’t be able to build on that momentum and push for an NHL call-up. Injuries wiped out pretty much the entirety of Gildon’s sophomore AHL campaign and this past season he managed just 14 points in 47 games split between Bakersfield and the Charlotte Checkers. He was not issued a qualifying offer from Florida and will now try his luck with one of the DEL’s better teams rather than continue in North America.
- After helping his native Latvia make history winning a bronze medal at the IIHF Men’s World Championships a few months ago, former Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Mārtiņš Dzierkals has signed with Skellefteå AIK in the SHL. Dzierkals spent the last two seasons playing in Czechia for HC HC Plzeň in 2021-22 (30 points, 49 games) and HC Motor České Budějovice in 2022-23. (21 points, 52 games) Dzierkals last played in North America in 2017-18, when he scored 15 goals and 36 points in 51 games for the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears. He then left for Dynamo Riga, then playing in the KHL, and was a nominee for the league’s rookie of the year award scoring 13 points in 42 games. Now 26 with some significant international experience under his belt (he also represented Latvia at the 2022 Winter Olympics and three other IIHF Men’s World Championships) he’ll join the SHL finalists looking to help Skellefteå go on another deep playoff run and achieve the kind of glory Latvia won earlier this summer.
- Former Western Michigan University captain Nolan LaPorte has signed with Ferencvárosi TC of Hungary’s Erste Liga. The 31-year-old will arrive in Budapest after splitting 2022-23 between the EIHL’s Glasgow Clan and Slovakia’s HK Spisska Nova Ves. LaPorte was a key player during his time in Scotland, amassing 41 goals and 92 points in 104 games there, helping Glasgow reach the playoffs in 2021-22. LaPorte has also been a solid contributor at the ECHL level, where he has a career-high of 44 points in a single season. Ferencvárosi are looking for a player who can get them over the hump after back-to-back losses in the league finals, and the hope is likely that LaPorte can be that sort of player.
- It’s been a quick fall from grace for former New York Islanders defense prospect Bode Wilde, who’s now signed a one-year deal with HC Banska Bystrica in Slovakia’s Extraliga. The 2018 second-round pick once looked to be on track to make a major NHL impact after he recorded 70 points in 62 games with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit in 2018-19, but he never found his footing in the Islanders organization professionally and spent all of last season on assignment with the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators, where he recorded just 14 points in 56 games. The Islanders did not issue him a qualifying offer after his entry-level contract expired this summer, making him an unrestricted free agent. He heads to a Banska Bystrica team that’s fallen on tougher days after winning three straight Extraliga championships in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
This page will be updated throughout the day.
Free Agent Profile: Jaroslav Halak
Jaroslav Halak has been on quite the journey since he led the Montreal Canadiens to back-to-back playoff upsets of the President’s Trophy winning Washington Capitals and defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins back in 2010. Halak was so effective in that run to the Conference Finals that many Canadiens fans wanted the team to keep him and trade his partner, Carey Price. Montreal opted to keep Price and shipped Halak to the St. Louis Blues for a package that included Lars Eller.
The early returns in St. Louis were good as Halak was solid in his first season with the Blues and even better in year two when he and Brian Elliott won the William M. Jennings Trophy for the fewest goals against in the league. That year Halak also garnered Vezina Trophy votes and ultimately finished sixth in voting as he sported a stellar .926 save percentage and a 1.97 goals-against average.
Eventually, the shine wore off in St. Louis and Halak lost the net to Elliot and was traded to the Washington Capitals midway through the 2013-14 campaign. He played well for the Capitals in limited action but the team ultimately missed the playoffs.
That summer, the Bratislava, Czechoslovakia native signed a four-year deal with the New York Islanders with an annual cap hit of $4.5M. The Islanders received excellent goaltending from Halak in his first season with the team as he went 38-17-4 with a .914 save percentage and a 2.43 goals-against average. In fact, through his first three years on Long Island Halak posted a save percentage above .910 every year, and kept his quality starts percentage over 50%, which means his save percentage was above the average more often than not.
It was in the final year of his contract with the Islanders that the cracks started to show in Halak’s game as he struggled in 2017-18 and posted the worst numbers of his career up to that point with a .908 save percentage and a 3.19 goals-against average.
Understanding that his days as a starter were likely ending, Halak signed a two-year deal with the Boston Bruins to back-up Tuukka Rask. Halak ended up playing in almost half of Boston’s games that year and outplayed Rask for large portions of the season in what was one of the best years of Halak’s career as he went 22-11-4 with a save percentage of .922 and a goals-against average of 2.34. Halak would win another Jennings Trophy the following year posting a .919 save percentage in what was another fantastic campaign for the netminder. That season in Boston, the 2019-20 campaign is the last time that Halak has posted a save percentage over .910.
Since the 2019-20 season, Halak hasn’t been able to be counted on to provide consistent play. Halak hasn’t started more than 25 games in the past three seasons, and although that isn’t entirely his fault thanks to injuries and a pandemic, he has been a tick below average when he has played.
At 38-years-old Halak and 17 seasons into his career, Halak has a lot of miles on his body, but he did indicate a month ago that he would like to continue playing. Halak reportedly talked about an extension with the New York Rangers prior to free agency, but ultimately the Rangers decided to sign Jonathan Quick to be their backup, which is a definite downgrade from Halak at this point. Halak needs just five wins to reach 300 and given his track record he should be presented soon with an opportunity to be a backup next season.
Stats
2022-23: 25 GP, 10-9-5, 2.72 GAA, .903 SV%, 1 SO
Career: 581 GP, 295-189-69, 2.50 GAA, .915 SV%, 53 SO
Potential Suitors
At Halak’s age he probably isn’t looking to get pummeled with fifty shots every night which means we can likely filter out any rebuilding teams. At first glance, the New Jersey Devils and St. Louis Blues are two teams who have a need for depth in net.
The Devils are a team that feels like they are on the cusp of building something great, their defense is mobile and quick, they can push the pace and defend. Their forward group is skilled, fast, and comes at you in waves. But goaltending is their Achilles heel. The Devils have reportedly shown interest in several goaltending options including Connor Hellebuyck and John Gibson, but both of those goaltenders would require large commitments that the Devils might not want to make. But the Devils do need some help in the crease as they will once again enter this season relying on the tandem of Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid. Both goaltenders are relatively inexperienced, and while they backed the Devils to the second round of the playoffs last season, they might need an extra set of hands to get the club there again. Neither Schmid, nor Vanecek have a history of playing at a high level in the NHL for an extended period, which means that even a league-average goaltender like Halak could give a big boost to the team’s depth chart and offer up a solution should either man falter.
For the St. Louis Blues, they’ve made some interesting moves over the past year but haven’t done much to address their goaltending. It’s fair to say that the Blues goaltending was porous last season. Jordan Binnington, now in the third year of a six-year $36MM contract, hasn’t been good in two seasons posting a 45-41-10 regular season record, with a 3.24 goals-against average and a .897 SV%. If you take a deep dive into his numbers the picture gets even worse, in the last two seasons Binnington has posted a minus-26.6 GSAA, meaning that he gave up almost 27 goals more than the average NHL goalie would on the same number of shots. Couple this with St. Louis deciding to run with rookie Joel Hofer as a backup and you have a potential recipe for disaster for the Blues. No disrespect to Hofer, who had a terrific year with the Springfield Thunderbirds last season in the AHL, but he is inexperienced and is no guarantee to step up should Binnington falter for a third year in a row. Adding a netminder like Halak might give the Blues a good safety net in case one of their two goaltenders were to struggle or get hurt. He wouldn’t cost anything in the way of assets and could give the Blues some peace of mind.
Projected Contract
A month ago, it seemed like a sure thing that Halak would get a one-year NHL deal for a bit over $1MM. Now a month into free agency, I’m not so sure. I think that barring an off-season training injury before training camps open, Halak will have to settle for a number three role on a team with good depth in net, or a PTO. The experienced veteran would provide a good fallback option in a pinch and can give guidance to younger goalies who might be ahead of him on the depth chart.
I’d be surprised at this point if Halak got over $1MM on his next contract, however, with that being said, injuries can create urgency quickly, especially in net. Halak could be the first netminder who gets a call from a team with thin goalie depth after they get stung by the injury bug. Even if this were to happen, Halak is like to end up with a six-figure deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
David Krejčí To Announce Retirement Soon
According to Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now, David Krejčí will announce his retirement from the NHL and hockey in the very near future. Krejčí returned to the Boston Bruins this past season after taking a one-year hiatus to play overseas with Olomouc HC in the Czech League during the 2021-22 season. He had a good year for Boston but did wear down a bit towards the end of the year. In his return, Krejčí had 16 goals and 40 assists in 70 games while centering Boston’s second line.
Murphy mentions in his piece that rumors have been swirling that Krejčí may return to Czechia to play for Olomouc once again, but an NHL source of his has told him that won’t happen. There is, however, an outside chance he could play for the national team, which would leave the door open for Krejčí to dress for Czechia in the 2024 World Championships.
It has been quite a run for the former 2004 second-round pick. Through his NHL career Krejčí has posted 231 goals and 555 assists in 1032 regular season games to go along with a +166 plus-minus rating. He was also a clutch playoff performer with Boston, helping to lead the team to three Stanley Cup finals and one Stanley Cup title in 2011 in which he led the Bruins in scoring with 12 goals and 11 assists in 25 games.
Krejčí’s retirement will bring the Bruins closer to the end of an era as only Brad Marchand and Milan Lucic remain from the squad that won the Stanley Cup 2011. It will also close out the run of one of the best 1-2 center combinations we’ve seen in recent memory. Krejčí and Patrice Bergeron brought something unique to the center position that few other teams had, both men could create offense and play a solid two-way game. Bergeron was one of the best at it, but it always felt like Krejčí’s ability to play on both sides of the puck was overlooked because of who he played behind. Krejčí was a unique talent and will certainly be missed by the Bruins and their fans.
Free Agent Profile: Paul Stastny
The height of free agency ended a little less than a month ago and once again veteran center Paul Stastny finds himself without an NHL contract heading into next season. Unlike, most younger players Stastny probably isn’t too concerned about financial security as he has made nearly $85MM during his career (CapFriendly). Stastny has also been here before, having waited until August 23rd to sign last summer with the Carolina Hurricanes. Stastny may find himself unsigned late in the offseason once again but given that he is just a year removed from a 45-point season, there is reason to believe he will find an NHL job next year.
Stastny began his career as a perennial 70-point player on a talented but inconsistent Colorado Avalanche team that could never seem to get over the hump. He remained an important top-six piece as his career progressed, but as injuries started to impact his body, he began to descend into a 50–60-point scorer. By the time he signed a four-year $28MM contract as a free agent with the St. Louis Blues in 2014, he had settled in as a 40–50-point contributor that could post solid faceoff results and contribute in other ways. Stastny put up 40 or more points in each of his three and a half seasons with the Blues and was dealt to the Winnipeg Jets at the trade deadline in 2018.
After a cup of coffee in Winnipeg, Stastny signed with the Vegas Golden Knights in the summer of 2018. He spent two years with the team and failed to meet the expectations that came with his three-year $19.5MM contract. Stastny put up 80 points in 121 games with Vegas, but his production didn’t live up to his $6.5MM cap hit and he was traded back to Winnipeg in the 2020 offseason.
Stastny remained a solid center option in his two seasons in Winnipeg and continued to be a consistent 40-point threat despite being in his mid-30’s. Last summer, Stastny was coming off the aforementioned 45-point season and seemed like a good bet to sign a decent one-year deal, but as the height of free agency came and went, Stastny was left without a dance partner and eventually signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes for $1.5MM. The deal was good value, although probably a tad below expectations for Carolina as Stastny centered both the third and fourth line at different points during the season.
At the end of the season, the Hurricanes opted to let Stastny go and that’s where we find the 37-year-old today, unsigned and coming off a season in which he put up nine goals and 13 assists in 73 games while averaging a career-low 11:52 of ice-time per game.
Stastny has had a terrific career up to this point, but he is still chasing that elusive Stanley Cup. He seems to have a knack for leaving organizations just as they are on the cusp of winning Lord Stanley as evidenced by his former clubs Colorado, St. Louis, and Vegas all winning championships shortly after his departure.
Now, the Quebec City, Quebec native is in the twilight of his career and is likely looking to sign with a contender. He showed last year that he could be a solid contributor on the bottom two lines and probably has more to give. Teams aren’t going to be lining up like they once were for Stastny’s services, but with two months left until opening night, there is plenty of reason to be optimistic that he will find a landing spot before the first week in October.
Stats
2022-23: 73 GP, 9-13-22, +4 rating, 16 PIMS, 80 shots, 57.6% faceoffs, 60.9% CF, 11:52 ATOI
Career: 1145 GP, 293-529-822, +43 rating, 500 PIMS, 2326 shots, 54.2% faceoffs, 52.2% CF, 18:27 ATOI
Potential Suitors
It seems that teams are always looking for help at center, which makes Stastny’s status a bit surprising this late in the offseason. While he is hardly the only pivot that is unsigned, he is probably the best of the leftovers. For Stastny, if he does choose to continue his career, he will be looking for a situation where he is a good fit. He never quite found a groove in Carolina, and despite playing on an excellent team, he did seem frustrated at times. He also fell out of favor with the coaching staff for brief periods, evidenced by his benching when the team opted to use Derek Stepan in his spot.
Let’s start in the East. The Buffalo Sabres have several players that are over the age of 35 and while Stastny isn’t going to push the team into the next stratosphere, he could be a nice stopgap for the team as they wait for more of their young prospects to develop into everyday NHLers. The Sabres also need to navigate the injury to Jack Quinn, and while this version of Stastny is no replacement for the youngster, he could be a part of a solution until he returns. Stastny would add a lot of experience and leadership to the Sabres dressing room and could also provide the team with a center who can win most of the draws he takes and will generally help his team control the play when he is on the ice.
In the West, the Edmonton Oilers still need a solid fourth-line center. The club does currently have a few options that they can slot into the lineup in a pinch, but ideally, they would have a pivot that can bring similar skills to that of Stastny. The Oilers don’t need a player that will drive the offense, but they do need capable bottom six players who can play a responsible brand of hockey and dictate play when they are on the ice. Stastny fits the bill having won 57% of his faceoffs last season, and having terrific possession numbers as Carolina controlled the puck 60% of the time Stastny was on the ice. His offense dried up last season, but Edmonton doesn’t need an offensive juggernaut, they need smart bottom six players that can chip in on offense from time to time.
Projected Contract
Many of the remaining unrestricted free agents are likely going be forced to take contracts that are around the league minimum of $775K, however, I don’t believe that will be the fate for Stastny. As mentioned earlier, he waited until the end of August last year and still secured a seven-figure AAV on a one-year deal. This year is different for Stastny though as he is coming off his lowest offensive output in his 17-year career, so a contract approaching what he made last season might be off the table. I would venture a guess that Stastny will get a one-year deal in the range of $1MM to $1.25MM which could also include a small bonus. Several teams have utilized bonuses for players over 35 years of age signing one-year contracts and Stastny could be the next in line to receive it. Regardless of where he winds up, he will likely be able to give the team that acquires him good value on a short-term deal.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On Availability Of Sean Couturier, Cam Atkinson, Ryan Ellis
Philadelphia Flyers president of hockey operations Keith Jones addressed the health and availability of three of his organization’s bigger-name players to NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman today. He spoke on Flyers number-one center Sean Couturier, veteran goal scorer Cam Atkinson, and defenseman Ryan Ellis.
On Couturier and Atkinson, Jones said that both are expected to be healthy and on the ice for the start of Flyers training camp next month. That’s not only major news for each player but also the Flyers organization at large, as the team’s offensive attack has suffered tremendously in the absence of two of the team’s most experienced players.
Couturier, 30, is arguably the Flyers’ best player. Couturier hasn’t played an NHL game since December 2021 and has had two back surgeries since that point.
Kimelman notes that Couturier “Couturier was practicing before the end of last season and had been hoping to get into a game,” but the Flyers made the decision not to rush Couturier back into what was a lost season, preferring to afford him the more extended timeline of a full offseason of training leading up to his first game back.
When healthy, Couturier is a top-of-the-line two-way center who is capable of scoring at a near-point-per-game rate. (he has crossed the 75-point plateau twice in his career) The 2019-20 Selke Trophy winner could very well compete for more Selke trophies when healthy, especially now that Patrice Bergeron has retired.
With the Flyers intensely interested in developing their young talent and providing young players with prime opportunities to succeed in the NHL, having Couturier healthy is a huge asset. For young wingers such as Tyson Foerster or Bobby Brink, players the Flyers desperately want to succeed in the NHL, having the chance to play on a line centered by Couturier could do wonders in easing their adjustment to the NHL.
As for Atkinson, as a 34-year-old under contract only through the 2024-25 season he is unlikely to be with the Flyers by the time they enter their next competitive phase. That’s unlike Couturier, who is signed to a long-term, $7.75MM AAV contract through the end of the decade. Atkinson is a favorite of head coach John Tortorella but missed all of last season after undergoing neck surgery.
The fact that the Flyers’ next playoff run will likely happen outside of Atkinson’s contract doesn’t mean he can’t provide value to the Flyers for the rest of his deal. The former 41-goal scorer returning to full health could improve the developmental environment in Philadelphia, just as having a healthy Couturier would.
Atkinson is a widely respected veteran who can capably score 20 goals and 50 points in a full season. For a young center the Flyers wish to see continue to develop, such as Morgan Frost or Noah Cates, having an accomplished veteran winger to play with and help the line succeed offensively could be genuinely helpful.
The key to the right developmental environment for a rebuilding club is to provide the right mix of young players and established talent, rather than just stocking a roster with as many unproven youngsters as possible. The issue for the Flyers has been that so many of the team’s key veteran forwards have been injured (such as Couturier and Atkinson) or a poor fit with Tortorella. (Kevin Hayes)
Getting both Atkinson and Couturier back from their season-long injuries not only helps the Flyers win more games in the immediate term, but it should also yield real benefits for the development of the Flyers’ young talent.
As for Ellis, Jones told Kimelman that the defenseman is unlikely to “be able to continue his playing career because of a torn psoas muscle in his back.” Jones added that Ellis is “exhausting everything that he can in order to play” but that the injury is simply making his return to the ice impossible.
Ellis, 32, was a high-end defenseman for the Nashville Predators for 562 games before he was dealt to Philadelphia in the summer of 2021 in exchange for Philippe Myers and 2017 number-two pick Nolan Patrick.
Ellis only managed to play in four games for the Flyers, scoring five points, before injuries knocked him out of the lineup. As long as this injury keeps Ellis from being able to play he will likely remain on the Flyers’ long-term injured reserve list in order for the team to receive cap relief for Ellis’ $6.25MM AAV contract, a deal that runs through 2026-27.
While Ellis appears to have every desire to return to the ice and continue his career, based on Jones comments it appears that expecting Ellis to ever suit up for another NHL game would be a mistake. While the organization must be happy to have Atkinson and Couturier back for training camp, the seemingly permanent absence of Ellis is undoubtedly unfortunate for both the Flyers and Ellis himself.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
New York Rangers, Brandon Scanlin Reach Pre-Arbitration Settlement
08/02/23: The Rangers have now officially announced the signing of Scanlin to a one-year contract extension.
08/01/23: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the New York Rangers and defenseman Brandon Scanlin have reached a pre-arbitration settlement on a new contract.
Scanlin’s representatives and the Rangers have agreed on a one-year, $775k contract carrying a $100k AHL salary. Scanlin’s arbitration hearing was scheduled for August 4th, and will obviously now be taking not take place.
Scanlin is a 24-year-old undrafted right-shot blueliner who signed an entry-level contract at the conclusion of his NCAA career at the University of Nebraska Omaha. That deal carried a $925k NHL AAV and an $80k AHL salary, the latter being the more important number as Scanlin was always unlikely to see games for the Rangers so quickly after leaving college. Scanlin’s camp has secured a pay raise to $100k in the AHL for next season, though at the cost of cutting the NHL AAV down to the league minimum.
While this will hurt Scanlin’s earning potential in the NHL, that isn’t of major consequence looking at the Rangers’ defensive depth chart. The hulking six-foot-three, 223-pound defenseman isn’t going to threaten Ryan Lindgren or K’Andre Miller for either of the two top slots on the Rangers’ defensive depth chart.
While the left-side spot on the team’s third pairing next to Braden Schneider will likely be up for grabs in training camp and preseason, Scanlin faces a tall task to earn that role over holdover Rangers players such as Zachary Jones (who the Rangers would need to expose to waivers to send to AHL Hartford) and Ben Harpur, or veteran free agent signings such as Erik Gustafsson (42 points last season) and Connor Mackey.
As a result, he’s overwhelmingly likely to be ticketed for a role back in the AHL with the Hartford Wolf Pack, where he played his rookie professional season in 2022-23. Scanlin played in 61 games for Hartford in 2022-23, scoring four goals and 15 points while racking up 30 penalty minutes. Although Scanlin had to contend with more established players such as Jones, Libor Hájek, and Matthew Robertson soaking up regular minutes in Hartford he still managed to play in nearly 85% of the Wolf Pack’s games and the team’s full slate of nine playoff games.
That puts him in a decent position to maintain a regular role for the Wolf Pack next season, although the additions of Gustafsson and Mackey could make things more difficult. Assuming Gustafsson earns the third-pairing role next to Schneider and the Rangers opt to stash Jones in the press box as a seventh defenseman rather than expose him to waivers, Mackey, should he clear waivers, is in line to be the Wolf Pack’s number-one left-shot defenseman with Harpur and Robertson likely to be behind him.
That lineup picture could make it harder for Scanlin to see regular time in Hartford, especially as more accomplished AHLers such as Mac Hollowell and Nikolas Brouillard stand ahead of him on the right side.
Still, Scanlin appears to be one injury or waiver claim from resuming his regular role on head coach Kris Knoblauch’s defense, and should he manage to hold down a regular role he will be afforded a solid opportunity to continue his development and make a more concerted push for NHL call-up consideration.