West Notes: Myers, Shaw, Luypen, Blumel
With the Maple Leafs set to miss Jake Muzzin for several more months and perhaps longer, it has led to some speculation that they could look to acquire a veteran rearguard in his place. To that end, some have suggested that Canucks blueliner Tyler Myers could be a fit but Postmedia’s Patrick Johnston reports that Toronto’s interest is believed to be lukewarm at most. Myers is signed through next season with a $6MM AAV and has logged over 20 minutes a night throughout his career. However, his production has fallen off over the past few seasons as he has only scored once in his last 97 games.
Elsewhere in the Western Conference:
- Mason Shaw has impressed since being recalled from the minors last month and has made enough of an impression on the Wild that they’ve told him that he’ll be staying up with them for the rest of the season, relays Dane Mizutani of the Pioneer Press. The 24-year-old played in three games with Minnesota last year but has already surpassed that with a dozen appearances this season that have seen him pick up two goals and three assists along with 24 hits while averaging nearly 13 minutes a night of ice time. Shaw is making the league minimum this season and will have arbitration rights next summer.
- Back in August, when the Blackhawks signed prospect Jalen Luypen to an entry-level contract, it was expected that the 20-year-old would play with AHL Rockford this season. However, Scott Powers of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that the plan has changed now that his junior rights were acquired by Tri-City. Instead of turning pro, Luypen will report for his final season in the WHL once he’s cleared to return after he underwent rotator cuff surgery in the summer. Even though he’ll go back to junior, he will burn the first year on his contract this season.
- The Stars have brought back Matej Blumel, notes Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). He was sent down yesterday when it was expected that they’d need to bring up an extra goaltender. However, that’s no longer the case so Dallas has the cap room to bring the 22-year-old back up.
Sabres Claim Tyson Jost Off Waivers From Wild
The Sabres have added some extra depth up front as TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that they have claimed center Tyson Jost off waivers from Minnesota.
The 24-year-old was acquired by the Wild back at the trade deadline last season in exchange for Nico Sturm. They were hoping that a change of scenery would help Jost to unlock the potential he showed in the past that made him the 10th overall pick in 2016. He was a little better down the stretch last season with six points in 21 games which gave them cause for a little bit of optimism heading into this season.
Unfortunately, things haven’t gone well this season. Jost was limited to just three assists in 12 games while spending a lot of time on the left wing. He was also a healthy scratch in five games and that’s simply not a good return on a $2MM price tag. Unable to trade him, the Wild put Jost on waivers yesterday. His full contract will come off the books which will give GM Bill Guerin considerably more flexibility as he looks to upgrade his roster that currently sits on the outside looking in at the playoff race.
As for Buffalo, it’s a claim that doesn’t carry a lot of risk and there’s a clear path to playing time for Jost. Riley Sheahan is currently playing center on their fourth line and Jost represents a younger, more talented option at this point of his career. If the Sabres envision him on the wing, Anders Bjork has already cleared waivers this season and the Sabres took advantage of that as he was sent back to AHL Rochester in a corresponding move.
Notably, Jost’s contract is a little back-loaded so while his cap hit is $2MM, his qualifying offer next summer stands at $2.25MM, his actual salary this season. He’ll need to show some improvement if he wants a chance at receiving that tender in June; perhaps this change of scenery will be the one to help get him going.
Canadiens Activate Mike Matheson Off Injured Reserve
The Canadiens will welcome back a key defenseman tonight against Philadelphia as the team announced (Twitter link) that Mike Matheson will make his Montreal debut after being activated off injured reserve.
The 28-year-old was acquired from Pittsburgh over the offseason in a move that saw defenseman Jeff Petry and center Ryan Poehling join the Penguins. Matheson, who was coming off a career year with Pittsburgh that saw him put up 11 goals and 20 assists in 74 games, was expected to play the role that Petry had last season as Montreal’s number one defender but he suffered an abdominal injury early in the preseason. Originally diagnosed as a day-to-day issue, it was then suggested that he’d be out until mid-December but clearly, he’s ahead of that timeline.
Montreal freed up a roster spot yesterday when they returned forward Rem Pitlick to AHL Laval so they don’t have to make any other moves for now. Instead, they’ll opt to carry eight defensemen and will sit one of their rookies as Jordan Harris is expected to be scratched for the first time this season. With four rookies (three of them being waiver-exempt) on their active roster, that’s not a particularly tenable situation from a long-term perspective but for now, they’ll welcome Matheson back and potentially begin a rotation of the final two spots on the back end.
Blue Jackets Recall Billy Sweezey
As the injuries continue to pile up in Columbus, the Blue Jackets have had to dip deeper into their depth chart with some players getting their first NHL opportunities. Today, that’s the result for defenseman Billy Sweezey as the team announced they’ve recalled him from AHL Cleveland.
The 26-year-old undrafted free agent has taken a slower route to the NHL. After playing out his college career at Yale, he signed a minor-league deal with Pittsburgh in 2020. That was enough to get him a minor-league pact with Columbus last season where he put up 11 points in 70 games along with 114 penalty minutes. Those numbers don’t jump off the page but GM Jarmo Kekalainen thought highly enough of him to commit a two-year, two-way deal for this season, one that pays him the league minimum at the NHL level in both seasons.
This season, Sweezey has been a bit more involved offensively with five assists through his first 14 games with AHL Cleveland which has helped him earn this recall. Columbus is currently without Zach Werenski, Jake Bean, Adam Boqvist, and Nick Blankenburg who are all on injured reserve and while David Jiricek has done well in the minors so far, the Blue Jackets are trying to manage his NHL action as his contract would slide a year as long as he plays in nine or fewer games. With Sweezey’s recall, the team now has seven healthy defenders on their active roster.
Atlantic Notes: Lightning, Senators Sale, Barkov
The Lightning transferred defenseman Cal Foote to injured reserve today, notes Erik Erlendsson of Lightning Insider (Twitter link). He has missed the last three games since suffering an upper-body injury on a hit from Capitals winger Nicolas Aube-Kubel last week, one that earned him a three-game suspension. The placement might be a short-term one, however, as the 23-year-old is skating in a non-contact sweater which suggests he might be close to returning. Tampa Bay has the option to back-date the placement to last week in which case they’d be able to activate Foote as soon as Monday.
What the placement does is give the Lightning an open roster spot, one that Erlendsson suggests could be used to activate blueliner Zach Bogosian tomorrow. The 32-year-old has yet to play this season since undergoing shoulder surgery back in July and would be a welcome addition to their third pairing if he is indeed given the green light to suit up in that one.
More from the Atlantic Division:
- Add another suitor to the list of groups interested in purchasing the Senators as Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch reports that Angelo Paletta and his family have expressed interest in the franchise. Paletta looked to bring another team to Southern Ontario back in 2018 while also looking to purchase the Coyotes one year later.
- While the Panthers had to play short a player last night due to a lack of cap space, that won’t be the case for their game against Calgary on Saturday. Head coach Paul Maurice told reporters including Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link) that he is optimistic that center Aleksander Barkov will return for that contest after missing yesterday’s game against Dallas due to an undisclosed injury. Since they played with only 17 skaters for that one, they’re now allowed to make an emergency cap-exempt recall from AHL Charlotte but Maurice indicated that they don’t plan to do so at this time.
Canucks Activate Curtis Lazar, Assign Will Lockwood To AHL
The Canucks are set to welcome back one of their centers in advance of tonight’s game against Los Angeles as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated Curtis Lazar off injured reserve. To make room for him on the roster, Vancouver re-assigned winger Will Lockwood to AHL Abbotsford.
Lazar signed a three-year contract with the Canucks on the opening day of free agency back in July and was expected to anchor their fourth line, the role he held for a lot of his time with Boston previously. He got into seven games last month but was shut down late in October after it was revealed that he was playing through an undisclosed injury. Lazar had a goal and 17 hits in those contests while logging just shy of 12 minutes per game.
As for Lockwood, his second NHL stint of the season lasted longer than the first but that’s not saying much as he was only brought up on Tuesday and lasted just one extra day this time. However, he did make his first NHL appearance of the season on this recall, picking up an assist against Buffalo on Tuesday. Lockwood has been productive in the minors this season with five goals and two assists in ten appearances down there which will keep him at or near the top of the recall list whenever another recall is needed.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Buffalo Sabres
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2022-23 season and beyond. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Buffalo Sabres
Current Cap Hit: $65,105,451 (under the $82.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Dylan Cozens (one year, $894K)
F Peyton Krebs (two years, $863K)
F John-Jason Peterka (three years, $856K)
D Owen Power (two years, $917K)
F Jack Quinn (three years, $863K)
Potential Bonuses
Cozens: $850K
Krebs: $412.5K
Peterka: $82.5K
Power: $925K
Quinn: $850K
Total: $3.1195MM
Cozens did well last season in his first full NHL campaign, checking in at just under half a point per game while he’s doing a little better than that this year. He has positioned himself for a bridge deal that would start in the $3MM range but knowing what GM Kevyn Adams has done in terms of trying to lock up some core pieces lately, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Sabres try to work out a long-term agreement that could be closer to twice that amount while buying out some UFA years. Krebs came over as part of the Jack Eichel trade last season and while he’s holding down a regular spot in the lineup, he has yet to score in 15 games this year. While he’s still certainly part of their future plans, it’s looking likely that he’ll be heading for a bridge contract.
Quinn was dominant in the minors last season and expectations were somewhat high for him this year. He hasn’t been overly productive in the early going but it’s only the first year of his contract. A lot could change in the next couple of years which could make him a target to skip the short-term second deal and go straight to the long-term one. Peterka has been quite effective in a middle-six role this year and while he doesn’t have quite the fanfare that Quinn (or even the other two entry-level forwards) has, he could skip the bridge deal if he’s able to lock down a full-time spot in the top six over the next couple of seasons.
Power hasn’t scored yet this season but that’s about the only small blemish. He’s already averaging nearly 24 minutes per game and playing in all situations. This is the type of profile that typically signs a long-term second contract and we’ve seen the high end of that scale hit $9.5MM recently. Power has a long way to go to get to that level for sure but if he lives up to the hype, he’ll be a very expensive rearguard before too long.
Signed Through 2022-23, Non-Entry-Level
G Craig Anderson ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Rasmus Asplund ($825K, RFA)
G Ben Bishop ($4.917MM, UFA)
F Anders Bjork ($1.6MM, RFA)
D Casey Fitzgerald ($750K, RFA)
F Zemgus Girgensons ($2.2MM, UFA)
F Vinnie Hinostroza ($1.7MM, UFA)
D Lawrence Pilut ($750K, UFA)
F Kyle Okposo ($6MM, UFA)
F Riley Sheahan ($950K, UFA)
Potential Bonuses
Anderson: $500K
After some underwhelming years offensively, expectations were somewhat low for Okposo the last couple of years but he had a nice bounce-back season in 2021-22 and is off to a good start this year. $6MM for the captain is certainly out of the question at this stage of his career but a multi-year agreement around half of that doesn’t seem as outlandish as it might have been just a couple of seasons ago. Girgensons has been around for a long time (this is his ninth season) but gone are the days when the hope was that he could eventually move into the top six. He’s a checking forward now that can play both center and the wing. There’s value in that type of player but he shouldn’t cost much more than what he’s making now though another multi-year deal should come his way.
Hinostroza earned this raise on the heels of one of his stronger NHL performances last year but he remains more of a tertiary scorer that plays in the bottom six. His market hasn’t been the strongest in the past so it’s hard to forecast much of a raise for his next potential trip to the open market. Bjork hasn’t been able to establish himself with Buffalo and actually cleared waivers last month. With a $1.8MM qualifying offer on the horizon, he looks like a strong non-tender candidate at the moment. That can’t be said for Asplund who has turned into a quality defensive winger that can chip in a bit offensively as well. With a couple of RFA years remaining, Buffalo could look to do a one-year deal around double his current price or push for a multi-year pact that would push his AAV past the $2MM mark. Sheahan has been on cheap one-year deals the last four seasons and there’s little reason to think that won’t be the case next season as well. At this point, the only question is if he can secure a one-way pact instead of a two-way contract.
Fitzgerald and Pilut largely fall in the same category – players that are trying to establish themselves as NHL regulars. With the former, arbitration rights could put his next deal around the $1MM mark on a one-year agreement while with the latter, he should stay around the minimum if he sticks around the NHL. Returning overseas for a bigger role is definitely a possibility as well.
Bishop is only on Buffalo’s roster on paper. His playing days are done and he’s likely to go back to Dallas next season after it was ruled he couldn’t work for them this year. If someone wants to get creative with LTIR down the stretch, he’s a potential trade candidate. Anderson did well with Buffalo last year, earning himself a raise for this season as well. He’s going to go year to year from here on out which is understandable since he’s 41 but if he’s up for playing another year, a similar-priced deal could be attainable.
Signed Through 2023-24
D Jacob Bryson ($1.85MM, RFA)
G Eric Comrie ($1.8MM, UFA)
D Rasmus Dahlin ($6MM, RFA)
D Henri Jokiharju ($2.5MM, RFA)
G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen ($837.5K, RFA)
D Ilya Lyubushkin ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Casey Mittelstadt ($2.5MM, RFA)
F Victor Olofsson ($4.75MM, UFA)
Olofsson has been a player that has been a core piece at times and seemingly on the outside looking in at others. That’s part of the reason why he has been on short-term contracts to the point where Adams opted to bridge him into unrestricted free agency. When he’s on, he produces at a top-six rate that’s worthy of this price tag. When he isn’t, he’s not. Over the next two years, teams will have a better idea of which version they’re likely to get in 2024 and will offer accordingly. Mittelstadt has been much better this season after a tough first year on this bridge deal. If he can work his way into a full-time top-six spot by 2024, his next deal could push into the $4MM range. If the early success this year is the outlier though, they’ll have a decision to make about qualifying him at $2.6MM with arbitration rights.
Dahlin is a rare first-overall pick to receive a bridge contract. The decision was certainly defensible as he was coming off a rough performance in 2020-21 and there were questions about his ability to get to his high ceiling. Since then, those questions have gone away rather quickly as Dahlin had a career year last season and has been even better this year while becoming one of the top-scoring blueliners in the league. In doing so, he has shown that he is indeed a franchise defender. With that in mind, tendering the $7.2MM qualifying offer really isn’t the next question for Buffalo – it’s how much more than that will it take to get him to stay away from testing the open market in 2025. A double-digit AAV seems quite likely at this point.
Lyubushkin’s contract seemed a bit rich when it was signed early in free agency last summer but he is filling a spot on their third pairing while playing with the physicality he has shown throughout his career. If he had enough interest back in July to command this deal, it’s reasonable to infer that there could be enough interest in him in 2024 to push this price tag at least a little higher. Jokiharju also struggled a bit in the first season of his three-year bridge deal while injuries haven’t helped things this year. When healthy, he can play in their top four so there shouldn’t be any issues qualifying him at $2.6MM; his production (or lack thereof) will determine if it’s just a small increase from there or a bigger jump toward the $4MM range. Bryson is now a regular on the back end and the goal now for him will be getting into the top four regularly. Doing that would push him close to $3MM on his next deal as it looks like his earnings upside will be somewhat limited due to a lack of offense.
Comrie came over from Winnipeg looking for a chance to play a bigger role and he has received that with Buffalo. However, the results have been mixed so far. Considering he’s making less than a lot of veteran backups, it’s certainly not an above-market contract but he will need to show some improvement if he wants an opportunity to beat that in 2024. Luukkonen is Buffalo’s goalie of the short-term future; at least, that’s the plan. With limited NHL action at this point, he’s not going to have much history to work with when it comes to contract talks. A one-year deal could be done to buy more sides more time to evaluate or the Sabres could come in with a medium-term agreement in the $4MM range that carries some risk but also some upside if he becomes a legitimate starter.
Seattle Kraken Activate Philipp Grubauer
The Seattle Kraken have activated goaltender Philipp Grubauer off of injured reserve. In a corresponding move, defenseman Gustav Olofsson has been reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
Grubauer, 30, was placed on injured reserve on October 25th after suffering an injury during a game against the Colorado Avalanche, his former team. After a moderate absence, he is now healthy and ready to return to the ice.
Complicating Grubauer’s return, though, is the current state of the Kraken and the current performance of the man signed to be Grubauer’s backup: Martin Jones. The Kraken currently sit fifth place in the Western Conference, and have a solid 9-5-3 record, with seven of those wins coming in their last ten games. Jones’ play has been a major part of that, and he at the moment is giving the Kraken some of the best goaltending in their brief franchise history.
Last season, the poor play in net was one of the major reasons the Kraken were among the NHL’s worst teams. Grubauer was perhaps the worst starting netminder in hockey in 2021-22, posting a nightmarish .889 save percentage in 55 games. Backup Chris Driedger didn’t fare much better with a .899 of his own, and this season it’s been more of the same for Grubauer. In four games this season, he has a 3.70 goals-against-average and a .860 save percentage.
In contrast, Jones has posted a .912 save percentage and 2.34 goals-against-average. So the simple answer with Grubauer returning is to maintain Jones’ starring role.
But complicating the situation, and potentially necessitating a different answer from that simple one, is the contract status of each goalie.
The Kraken have significant dollars tied to Grubauer, as he makes $5.9MM each year for the next five seasons. Jones, on the other hand, is playing on an expiring one-year, $2MM deal.
So on one hand, the Kraken likely stand to have the best odds of winning as many games as possible if Jones gets the lion’s share of starts.
But on the other, playing Jones and limiting Grubauer’s game action could further damage Grubauer’s confidence, and hurt his odds of bouncing back and playing like the quality netminder he was with the Avalanche and Washington Capitals.
The Kraken are tied to Grubauer, after all, and while Jones operating as a full-on starter may have short-term benefits, it could cost them in the long term.
This could be a difficult decision for head coach Dave Hakstol to make. But since coaches are often the first to fall if a team hits a rough patch, they typically take the “win the game in front of you” approach to roster decisions, which is entirely reasonable. So with that in mind, it seems that Grubauer’s return won’t take a major chunk out of Jones’ workload.
But regardless of what the situation looks like now, Grubauer’s return to the Kraken roster and how he is deployed is certainly something worth tracking in the coming weeks.
Picture courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Edmonton Oilers Recall Brad Malone
The Edmonton Oilers have added to their roster, calling up forward Brad Malone from their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.
The 33-year-old Malone has gotten into two games for the Oilers so far this year, and has played in ten for the Condors. He has five points in those ten games with the Condors and is relied upon as priority organizational depth due to his leadership qualities and sound two-way game.
Last season, Malone scored 39 points in 52 AHL games, playing as an all-situations, heavily relied-upon center. His quality play not only earned him minutes in two of the Oilers’ playoff games, it also earned him a contract extension in the summer.
Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft in particular trusts Malone to fill in when injuries strike the Oilers, and part of that trust can likely be attributed to Woodcroft’s time coaching Malone when Woodcroft was the bench boss of the Condors. With Kailer Yamamoto not yet ready to return to the lineup, Malone draws in to provide some safe bottom-six play.
Minnesota Wild Recall Nic Petan
With Adam Beckman reassigned to the AHL’s Iowa Wild and Tyson Jost on waivers, the Minnesota Wild have space for another forward. Per a team announcement, they’ve recalled Nic Petan from Iowa to fill a space on their roster.
Petan, 27, was signed this summer by the team to serve as organization depth and has yet to make his NHL debut for Minnesota. This recall puts him in a position to do so. The five-foot-nine forward has been an elite AHL scorer in recent years, and he has eight points in five AHL games so far this season.
While scoring success at the NHL level has eluded Petan, the Wild have been able to get the most out of players once tagged as depth contributors, such as with Frederick Gaudreau and Ryan Hartman. Now Petan will have a chance to join that group if he can play well.
The Wild are also expecting to get Jordan Greenway back from injury in the relatively near future, but since he isn’t expected to be ready for their next game Petan will get a chance instead.