East Notes: Sanheim, Rohrer, Smith
Although it seemed yesterday that Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim was headed to St. Louis as part of one version of the blockbuster Kevin Hayes trade that is still yet to be fully ironed out, new details have emerged on Hayes’ status. Defenseman Torey Krug is reportedly not waiving his no-trade clause to be part of the Hayes deal, likely eliminating the possibility of Sanheim getting included in the trade. That doesn’t mean Sanheim won’t be on the move this summer, though.
The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports that “a few teams spoke with Philly about Sanheim, including the Toronto Maple Leafs.” While Sanheim’s $6.25MM cap hit expiring in the early 2030’s might seem difficult for Toronto to fit on their books, Sanheim would certainly be an intriguing addition to the left side of their defense. Worth noting is a conflicting report from Crossing Broad’s Anthony SanFilippo, who tweets that Toronto has not yet spoken to the Flyers about a possible Sanheim deal.
Some other notes from the NHL’s Eastern Conference:
- Montreal Canadiens prospect Vinzenz Rohrer has signed a two-year deal with the ZSC Lions of Switzerland’s National League, per a team announcement. Rohrer, 18, was a third-round pick of the Canadiens at the 2022 draft and has played the last two seasons with the Ottawa 67’s of the OHL, scoring 97 points in 118 games and earning Second-Team All-Rookie honors in the OHL in 2021-22. The Austrian forward captained ZSC’s U17 side at the junior level and with this contract, he’ll now get the chance to test himself at the pro level against men.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets’ choice at the number-three pick is one of the more intriguing storylines heading into the draft three days from now, and The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline has injected some more mystery into the lead-up to draft night. Writing what he called “informed, but highly speculative insights” Portzline said “The Blue Jackets are huge Will Smith fans,” and that “if we had to pick one today, some 72 hours before the draft, we’d lean toward Smith.” (subscription link) Seeing as Portzline stressed the speculative nature of those insights his piece shouldn’t be seen as a firm indication of Columbus’ preferences, but rather more of an indication that their choice at number three between Smith, Leo Carlsson, and potentially Adam Fantilli isn’t as clear-cut as some might lead one to believe.
Flyers, Blues Working On Kevin Hayes Trade
06/25/23 11:10 am: Di Marco has added to Friedman’s report that Krug is planning on staying put in St. Louis. He tweeted that Hayes could be the lone player headed to St. Louis in a re-worked trade, in a deal similar to the Ryan Johansen trade from yesterday.
Di Marco said that the Flyers “expect a lot back if this is the case,” meaning what once looked to be a larger deal with major pieces changing hands and potentially netting the Flyers another first-round pick could now be a more straightforward transaction.
06/25/23 9:30 am: Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman has reported that Krug “is leaning towards not waiving his no-trade clause.” Since Krug has a full no-trade clause on his contract, he not only has the right to veto any deal that would land him in Philadelphia, but any trade in general.
Based on Friedman’s report, it seems Krug is leaning towards using his no-trade rights to guarantee an outcome where he remains in St. Louis. It’s a development that has the potential to markedly change the complexion of this Hayes trade, or maybe even cause the deal to fall apart completely.
06/24/23 9:05 pm: The main writer for the St. Louis Blues on The Athletic, Jeremy Rutherford, released some definitive details on the trade. Although nothing is set in stone as of right now, in his article in The Athletic, he confirms that both Hayes and Sanheim will be headed to St. Louis, while Torey Krug and one of the Blues’ first-round picks in this year’s draft will head to Philadelphia. However, because of the no-trade clause in his contract, Krug will not be wearing a Flyers sweater next season. This would be the major hurdle in the trade, as the Flyers’ are looking for a third team to facilitate another trade for Krug.
06/24/23 6:52 pm: TVA’s Renaud Lavoie adds Marco Scandella is not the Blues party holding up the deal – he does not have full trade protection, and the Flyers are not on his no-trade list.
06/24/23 6:19 pm: Multiple reports suggest a Blues player has not waived a no-trade or no-move clause, holding up the trade going through. Rutherford reports this player is NOT Colton Parayko or Nick Leddy. The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor reports that Flyers defender Travis Sanheim could be heading to St. Louis along with Hayes, but the moving parts in the deal are far from finalized.
06/24/23 4:10 pm: The Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis Blues are finalizing a trade revolving around center Kevin Hayes, according to reports from The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford and The Fourth Period’s Anthony Di Marco.
Both DiMarco’s and Rutherford’s reports indicate this is set to be quite a complex trade with multiple moving parts. The Flyers were reportedly looking to add a third first-round selection in this year’s draft, while the Blues were looking to trade one of their two first-round picks later in the draft (25th or 29th overall).
Hayes was one of many Flyers involved in rampant trade speculation in recent weeks, although he’d mostly been connected to the Columbus Blue Jackets going back to last year. Those talks, which continued into this offseason, reportedly fell off last week.
Now 31 years old, Hayes was still among the Flyers’ highest-scoring players during a tough year offensively for the team. His 18 goals, 36 assists, and 54 points were actually his best point-producing pace since signing a seven-year, $50MM contract with Philadelphia in free agency in 2019. Those 36 assists led the team, and his 54 points were good enough for second on the team behind Travis Konecny, who was the only point-per-game Flyer this season.
Hayes still has three years remaining on that contract, which pays him $7.143MM per season. It’s a very steep cap hit for a player with defensive deficiencies who’s only a safe bet for 45-60 points in a full season, which would lead to questions about salary retention. The Blues have some steep contracts paid out to their defenseman, though, which could soften the blow if they’re able to move one of them to the Flyers in this deal – which is poised to include multiple NHL roster players in both directions.
This page will be updated as details of the return are reported.
Carolina Hurricanes Extend Jordan Staal
06/25/23: The Hurricanes have now officially announced Staal’s extension, confirming the contract’s reported four-year term and $2.9MM average annual value. Hurricanes GM Don Waddell issued the following statement regarding the signing:
Jordan embodies what it means be a Hurricane. His leadership has been an integral part of our success, and the impact he has made on our organization cannot be overstated. We could not be more excited to sign him for four more years.
An aspect worth noting about this deal is its structure. Per PuckPedia, the extension will see Staal owed just a $775k base salary in the final year of the deal. While that number will likely be revised to the new minimum salary under the next collective bargaining agreement, it’s still quite a bit lower than what Staal has earned on a yearly basis throughout his career.
That structure and the four-year term of the deal have led some to speculate that the Hurricanes don’t plan on Staal playing out the full length of the contract, with the forward potentially ending his career before that lower-salary final year kicks in.
Since Staal won’t turn 35 until September, this extension won’t count as a 35+ contract against the cap, making that sort of speculation a bit more plausible.
06/24/23: Carolina Hurricanes fans can take a breath tonight, as they’re getting a key piece of business out of the way before the busiest week of the offseason. The team and captain Jordan Staal are nearing a contract extension, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports Saturday night.
The average annual value of the deal, expected to be four years, will be in the $3MM range, NorthStar Bets’ Chris Johnston says. CapFriendly adds the extension carries a full no-movement clause.
Staal’s extension is far from a surprise. Carolina may have a lot of choices to make when it comes to their depth forwards this offseason, but their captain was an obvious one to bring back with nearly $25MM in cap space this offseason (CapFriendly). He may be turning 35 before next season starts, but Staal was beyond elite in a shutdown role in 2022-23 while adding 17 goals and 34 points in 81 regular-season games.
That being said, it’s quite a commitment for a player set to be 38 when the deal expires. The good news is he doesn’t appear to be in any sort of steady decline, providing a consistent amount of offense over the past five years apart from a 2020-21 spike that saw him record 38 points in just 53 games.
He’ll play a key role on a team looking to load up on forwards this offseason and contend for a Stanley Cup yet again in 2023-24. Staal’s two-way dominance will be a huge advantage lower in the lineup – the three-man unit of Staal, Jordan Martinook and Jesper Fast controlled 70 percent of expected goals (MoneyPuck) when deployed together, a team-high number.
Assuming he finishes out this contract, Staal will become one of the longest-tenured players in franchise history with a 15-year stint. Since being acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2012, Staal has played 742 games in a Carolina jersey, currently sitting fourth among Hurricanes/Whalers skaters.
Arizona Coyotes Extend Connor Ingram
June 25th: The Coyotes have officially announced the deal. In regards to the signing, General Manager in Arizona, Bill Armstrong, said, “Connor is a good young goaltender who played well for us last season. He and Karel Vejmelka provided us with a strong goaltending tandem. We look forward to having him back between the pipes.”
June 24th: Set to hit restricted free agency this summer, the Arizona Coyotes have done a bit of work to give them some clarity in net, signing Connor Ingram to a three-year extension. The deal will be a three-year, $5.85MM contract extension, paying Ingram a total of $1.95MM each season in the NHL.
Most importantly with Ingram’s deal, it actually buys out two years of potential unrestricted free agency for the netminder. Already having Karel Vejmelka signed until the 2024-25 season, the Coyotes will likely roll with these two for next year at the very least. Ideally, Arizona would like goaltending prospect Ivan Prosvetov to make the full-time leap to the NHL but must have felt that the young goaltender still needed a bit more seasoning at the minor-league level.
Originally drafted in the third round of the 2016 draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Ingram never managed to make the jump to the NHL in southwest Florida. He was traded to the Nashville Predators during the 2018-19 season, spending much of his time with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. Last season, he finally managed to make the jump to the professional league in Nashville, posting a 1-2-0 record in three games, achieving a .879 SV% and a 3.71 GAA.
Before the start of this past season, Ingram was waived by Nashville, being claimed by the Coyotes. Now playing in the net for a statistically worse team, Ingram had the benefit of having much more access to ice time than he previously had. In 27 games for the Coyotes, Ingram went 6-13-8, earning a .907 SV% and a 3.37 GAA, much better numbers than his cup of coffee with the Predators a year prior.
It is most likely that Vejmelka will once again be the starting goaltender in Arizona at the beginning of next season, but Ingram does give the team a reliable backup option. There is absolutely no indication that the Coyotes are planning for contention next year, so Ingram can take this time to boost his stock for his next round of free agency in three years.
Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports was the first to report that the Arizona Coyotes had extended Ingram.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was the first to report the contract details for Ingram.
Hurricanes, Flyers Working On A Tony DeAngelo Trade
A busy day for trades has gotten even busier, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the Carolina Hurricanes and Philadelphia Flyers are closing in on a deal that would send Anthony DeAngelo back to Carolina. DeAngelo most recently played for the Hurricanes back during the 2021-22 season before he found his way to Philadelphia.
Already carrying an imposing top-four, the Hurricanes appear to be well on their way to making their defensive unit even better. Although he can be a bit of a liability on the defensive side of the puck, DeAngelo has been one of the better blue-line scorers over the past couple of seasons. He has already shown the ability to score 10+ goals a year, and his ability to move the puck is by far his best asset.
Much like the deal that will be sending Kevin Hayes to the St. Louis Blues, it appears that the deal for DeAngelo may take some time as well. The Flyers should be expected to take back some salary in the trade, or another team may be involved. It was only one season ago that the Hurricanes decided that DeAngelo’s asking price was too rich for their blood, and shipped him off to Philadelphia. If the Flyers are willing to price down DeAngelo’s contract more to Carolina’s liking, this would seem like an ideal fit for both the team and the player.
Although the trade for DeAngelo ultimately makes Carolina a better team on paper, it does complicate their cap situation for next season. Already needing to sign Brett Pesce, Brady Skjei, and Jalen Chatfield, DeAngelo also becomes an unrestricted free agent after next season, joining that list. If DeAngelo and Skjei are more inclined to sign team-friendly contracts to stay in Carolina, this deal may make the burden of trading Pesce this offseason much lighter for the Hurricanes.
As far as the Flyers’ return goes, not much is known at this point. Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic reports that a trade is indeed in the works between the two teams, but the Flyers will not be receiving much in return. Last offseason, Philadelphia acquired DeAngelo from Carolina for a package including a second-round pick in 2024, a conditional third-round pick in 2023 (which would become the Flyers’ third-round pick), and a fourth-round pick in 2022. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic notes that the Flyers would likely only get a prospect from Carolina, although that prospect is currently unknown up to this point.
In any case, it is another example of two teams headed in two separate directions. After the news from today, with both Hayes and DeAngelo, the Flyers are committed to clearing house, and the Hurricanes are looking to bulk up for a postseason run in 2024.
West Notes: Hayes Trade, Kings, Jets
As the hockey world continues to wait on the second-big center trade of the day, one that is expected to see Kevin Hayes of the Philadelphia Flyers join the St. Louis Blues. Due to his cap hit of $7.14MM a year, there was always a guarantee that the Blues would likely have to send some money back. A complicated trade such as this one usually doesn’t take a couple of hours to complete, as it could go on for a couple of days, especially if a third team needs to get involved.
As of right now, there is no knowledge on what assortment of players, picks, or prospects will be headed back in either direction, but we do know a couple of players that will not be included in the deal on the Blues side of the action. Renaud Lavoie has already reported that St. Louis defenseman, Marco Scandella, is not the one holding up the trade, as the Flyers are not on his no-move list. Additionally, Lavoie notes that Colton Parayko and Nick Leddy have also not been asked to waive their no-trade clauses.
A few moments after the news from Lavoie, Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reported that defenseman Justin Faulk has also not been asked to waive his no-trade clause as well. This news is important for a couple of reasons. With some deductive reasoning, these reports could reasonably be interpreted as the Blues are trying to send a defenseman to the Flyers, and there is only one more St. Louis defenseman that has a sizeable contract, that player being Torey Krug. It appears that if the Blues are indeed trying to send Krug the other way, the no-trade clause in his contract appears to be holding up the deal, which may cause Philadelphia to seek out a third team to facilitate the trade.
Other notes:
- As the trade market starts to heat up in the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Kings are fervently in the mix. David Pagnotta of TheFourthPeriod reports that not only have the Kings engaged in multiple discussions to acquire a top-six forward, but they would love to get a trade made before the draft. The Kings and Montreal Canadiens have been the two teams most heavily linked to Pierre-Luc Dubois this summer, and he would be an acquisition that would undoubtedly improve Los Angeles’ forward group. Aside from Dubois, it is unknown who else the Kings would be targeting, but they are letting most teams know what they are looking for.
- Continuing on with the Dubois speculation, Frank Seravalli of the DailyFaceoff notes that the Kings and Winnipeg Jets are indeed engaged in conversations, but nothing seems imminent on the trade front. Los Angeles did create some room to add in their earlier trade of Sean Durzi to the Arizona Coyotes, but the reasoning behind a trade not being close may not entirely be their fault. Mark Scheifele, Connor Hellebuyck, Blake Wheeler, and Dubois have all seen their names in the rumor mill this summer, and the Jets likely have plenty of teams calling for their services.
Philadelphia Flyers Sign Louis Belpedio
This isn’t the Philadelphia Flyers news you were looking for. The team announced today they’ve re-signed defenseman Louis Belpedio to a two-year, two-way contract worth $1.55MM, earning him a league-minimum $775K cap hit per season.
The 27-year-old is a minor-league-only option at this point in his career, although he’s qualified enough to hold a top-four spot on almost any team in the AHL. His 2022-23 season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms saw him record eight goals, 19 assists, and 27 points in 70 games, finishing second among Phantoms defenders in assists and points behind Ronald Attard. It came on the heels of a career-high 30 points recorded in 2021-22 with the Laval Rocket – he was on a one-year, two-way deal with the Montreal Canadiens at that time. Four of his eight goals this season were also game-winners, good enough to put him in a tie for first among all AHL defenders.
A third-round pick of the Minnesota Wild in 2014, Belpedio recorded just four NHL appearances with the Wild before he entered Group VI unrestricted free agency in 2021. He hasn’t gotten an NHL chance since in stints with Montreal and Philadelphia.
As of now, he’s the oldest and most veteran defender slated for AHL time in the Flyers organization. He’ll be tasked with mentoring players such as Attard, Emil Andrae, Adam Ginning, and Helge Grans.
West Notes: Hanifin, Goligoski, Dubois
While Flames defenseman Noah Hanifin hasn’t given the team a list of teams he’d be willing to sign an extension with to help facilitate a trade, he has given them one clue at least. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman notes in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link) that the blueliner has made it known that he would like to return to the United States. Hanifin is set to enter the final year of his contract with a $4.95MM AAV that is well below market value. As a result, there should be strong interest in the 26-year-old who, on top of logging over 20 minutes a night, has recorded 86 points over the last two seasons. With the draft getting underway on Wednesday, Hanifin’s name is likely to come up in further trade speculation over the coming days.
Elsewhere around the Western Conference:
- This past season was a tough one for Wild blueliner Alex Goligoski who wound up being a frequent healthy scratch. However, Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic report (subscription link) that the 37-year-old has decided that he wants to return next season and since he has a full no-move clause, it’s safe to say he’ll now be sticking around. Goligoski has one year left on his contract with a $2MM AAV and with him not getting moved now, it wouldn’t be surprising to see if they can create a market for Jonathon Merrill who has two years left at a $1.2MM AAV to try to create a little extra cap flexibility.
- There could be some more moves coming soon, as the Winnipeg Jets are “gaining traction” on a Pierre-Luc Dubois trade, per The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta. There isn’t a clear front-runner for his services at this point, but the Los Angeles Kings and Montreal Canadiens have seen their names mentioned the most of any in recent trade rumors. The influx of pre-draft trades has been started with Kevin Hayes, Ryan Johansen, and Sean Durzi all on the move today.
Blues Re-Sign Scott Perunovich
The Blues have taken care of one of their pending restricted free agents, announcing the re-signing of defenseman Scott Perunovich to a one-year contract. It’s a one-way deal worth $775K, the NHL minimum for next season.
The 24-year-old was expected to push for a full-time spot with St. Louis in 2022-23. However, he suffered a fractured shoulder in the preseason, causing him to miss six months. Upon his return, Perunovich was assigned to AHL Springfield where he was quite productive, notching 20 points in just 22 games. That earned him a spot with Team USA at the World Championship where he once again put up the points, collecting eight in ten contests.
Perunovich, a 2018 second-round pick, has just 19 NHL regular season games under his belt, all coming in 2021-22. That, coupled with a lengthy injury history, didn’t give him much leverage to work with in contract discussions this summer, even with arbitration eligibility. Instead, the two sides have found a reasonable compromise, one that sees Perunovich take less than his qualifying offer to keep the cap hit low while getting a fully-guaranteed salary. He will once again be a restricted free agent next summer with arbitration rights.
Perunovich is still waiver-exempt next season until he plays in 37 games. As a result, it’s possible that he remains with the Thunderbirds in 2023-24 but if St. Louis is able to move one of their veteran blueliners in the coming days or weeks, he’ll be in line to push for a full-time spot with the Blues while giving their back end a boost offensively.
Coyotes Acquire Sean Durzi
The Coyotes are expected to be buyers this summer, looking to add pieces that might be around for a few years. They’ve found one of those players as they have acquired defenseman Sean Durzi from the Kings. Los Angeles receives a 2024 second-round pick (Montreal’s) in return. Arizona GM Bill Armstrong released the following statement about the move:
Sean is a reliable two-way defenseman who has good vision and contributes offensively. He will be a very good addition to our blue line and we look forward to having him on our roster this season.
The 24-year-old had a strong sophomore season in 2022-23, picking up nine goals and 29 assists in 72 games for the Kings while logging just shy of 20 minutes a night. That was good enough to finish second on Los Angeles in scoring by a defenseman behind only Drew Doughty. His production, however, dipped in their opening-round loss to Edmonton as he scored just once while seeing his ATOI drop by nearly four minutes.
Durzi has one year left on his contract with a more than reasonable $1.7MM AAV. On top of that, he has two more seasons of team control after next year, meaning that he will be under Arizona’s control through the 2025-26 campaign. He will immediately become the Coyotes’ top-paid blueliner, a sign of how much change their back end has undergone recently. A right-shot defender, Durzi could be counted on to play on Arizona’s top pairing next season, depending on what else they accomplish in the coming weeks. That should give him a chance to have a bigger role offensively which could set him up quite nicely for a significant raise on his current contract. Getting a player in that role for a future second-rounder is certainly a nice piece of business for Armstrong, especially since they still have eight second-rounders over the next three drafts. Even after the move, Arizona has some work to do to get to the cap floor let alone coming anywhere close to next year’s projected Upper Limit of $83.5MM.
As for the Kings, GM Rob Blake is dealing from a strong spot as Los Angeles has some promising offensive blueliners in their system. Jordan Spence had a dominant year at AHL Ontario with 45 points in 56 games and could be ready to make the full-time jump to the NHL. Meanwhile, Brandt Clarke, who spent the first few months of this past season with the Kings, finished up strong with OHL Barrie and could push for a full-time role in 2023-24. Both players are on entry-level contracts at about half of Durzi’s cost, meaning the move not only lands them what projects to be a decent second-rounder a year from now but also frees up some cap flexibility. With the swap, they now have a little over $9MM in cap space, per CapFriendly, with at least four roster spots to fill including a starting goaltender.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was the first to report (Twitter links) both that Durzi was going to Arizona and the draft pick return.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.