Offseason Notes: Dubois, Canadiens Defense, Kadri
The full extent of the Montreal Canadiens’ offseason plans began to take shape today, as the team traded defenseman Jeff Petry and center Ryan Poehling to the Pittsburgh Penguins. One major name that many have connected to the Canadiens is that of Winnipeg Jets center Pierre-Luc Dubois. It doesn’t take any detective work to understand why that connection is being made: Pat Brisson, Dubois’ agent, has communicated that his client would like to play in Montreal, and Dubois has reportedly communicated to the Jets that his intention is to leave as a free agent in two years time. Many have speculated, then, that the Canadiens would attempt to acquire Dubois this summer, and it appears that that sort of speculation is grounded in reality.
According to Arpon Basu of The Athletic (subscription link), Dubois attended the NHL Draft in Montreal because he “believed a trade would be completed on the draft floor.” Furthermore, Basu adds that “it is believed” that Winnipeg is “holding up a trade” because they want Montreal to include a player in the compensation package for Dubois that Montreal has no interest in moving. As we saw with the trade of Alexander Romanov to get Kirby Dach on draft night, Canadiens GM Kent Hughes is willing to trade players he isn’t actively looking to deal if he believes the player he’s getting in return is worth it. Dubois is extremely talented, but as a result the player the Jets could be seeking from Montreal could be someone too important for the Canadiens to move.
Now, for some other notes on ongoing offseason activity:
- Hughes spoke to the media today following the Petry deal, and mentioned, as relayed by David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, that the Canadiens would in all likelihood be looking for a right-side defenseman to fill the hole left by Petry’s absence. Star offensive defenseman John Klingberg‘s name sticks out as the best right-shot defender on the market, but he’s likely out of the Canadiens’ price range. Veteran defenseman Anton Stralman and Michael Stone are other UFA options, but neither truly inspire confidence. Perhaps the most intriguing option for the Canadiens is a possible return for P.K. Subban, who last played for the team in 2015-16. Subban maintains an active philanthropic presence in Montreal and his ties to the city have survived the many years he’s spent playing for other teams. While he may not be a long-term option for the Canadiens, his signing would definitely attract attention.
- Nazem Kadri is perhaps the best remaining UFA on the market, although he may not be without a contract for long. According to Peter Baugh of The Athletic, multiple teams are attempting to clear cap space in order to have room to sign Kadri. Kadri “wants to be on a contender” and has “ruled out” teams not considered true Stanley Cup threats. Kadri scored 28 goals and 87 points last season and just recently won the Stanley Cup. The contract he receives will likely be one of the biggest given out this offseason.
Anaheim Ducks Sign Pavel Mintyukov
6:00 PM: The Ducks have now officially announced Mintyukov’s signing.
5:30 PM: Per his agent, Dan Milstein, Anaheim Ducks draft pick Pavel Mintyukov has signed his three-year entry-level deal. The official announcement from the Ducks has not yet been made, but it should be coming soon, along with the financial details of the deal.
Mintyukov, 18, was the tenth overall pick at last week’s draft and comes to the Ducks organization after a successful debut season in the OHL. Mintyukov was one of the lone bright spots on the Saginaw Spirit, one of the worst teams in the OHL. Mintyukov led Saginaw with 62 points in 67 games, including 17 goals.
Mintyukov was the Spirit’s number-one defenseman, and head coach Chris Lazary utilized him heavily in all situations. Mintyukov ate significant minutes on the Spirit’s penalty kill, power play, and handled the Spirit’s toughest defensive matchups. He was a true all-situations defenseman and it’s his overall skill and versatility that got him drafted so high.
Mintyukov signing his entry-level deal so quickly is relatively significant since Mintyukov is a Russian player and had spent most of his career before this past season climbing the developmental ladder with Dynamo Moscow of the KHL. With the suspension of the NHL-KHL agreement and NHL teams having more and more difficulty getting their Russian players into the United States, cementing Mintyukov’s place within their organization and keeping him on North American ice ensures the Ducks will have maximum control over Mintyukov’s entire development process.
Mintyukov could return to Saginaw immediately for next season, or the Ducks could opt to give him a nine-game trial run at the NHL level if he impresses at training camp. If Mintyukov’s draft-year performance is any indication, the Ducks won’t be left waiting for too long before their prized prospect makes their big-league roster.
Central Notes: Stars, Blues, Slaggert
While Dallas has roughly $11MM in cap space per CapFriendly and still has to re-sign RFA winger Jason Robertson and RFA goaltender Jake Oettinger, assistant GM Scott White told Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News that the Stars don’t believe they’re in a position where they have to shed money to keep those two around. They have enough cap space left to sign one of the two to a long-term contract while the other would need to be on a short-term bridge deal but doing that would allow them to keep Radek Faksa and Denis Gurianov in the fold. To get both RFAs signed to long-term contracts, one of those two forwards and likely goalie Anton Khudobin would need to be moved out to open up extra cap flexibility. As a result, their summer shopping is likely done until Robertson and Oettinger put pen to paper on their new contracts.
Elsewhere in the Central:
- In an interview on ESPN 101 (audio link), winger David Perron indicated he didn’t receive a formal contract offer from the Blues before eventually signing a two-year, $9.5MM deal with Detroit. Perron and St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong both expressed mutual interest in a new contract getting reached, especially after the 34-year-old put up 57 points in 67 games last season. However, as Armstrong noted to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, his priority was shoring up the defense and Nick Leddy’s willingness to sign a four-year, $16MM contract basically took any chance of them keeping Perron in the fold off the table.
- Blackhawks prospect Landon Slaggert gave no consideration to turning pro after his sophomore season at Notre Dame, relays Scott Powers of The Athletic (subscription link). The 20-year-old forward had 26 points in 40 games last season and was named to the United States’ roster for the postponed World Juniors. Powers adds that it would be surprising if the 2020 third-rounder doesn’t turn pro after the college season comes to an end, however, potentially creating a situation where Chicago could burn the first year of his entry-level deal right away and give him a taste of NHL action.
Canadiens Sign Rem Pitlick
After non-tendering him earlier in the week, the Canadiens have decided to bring back Rem Pitlick, announcing that they’ve re-signed the forward to a two-year contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reports (Twitter link) that the deal carries an AAV of $1.1MM.
The 25-year-old bounced around a bit last season. He spent the preseason with Nashville before being waived and claimed by Minnesota. Pitlick was relatively productive with the Wild as he had 11 points in 20 games but found himself back on the wire back in January. Montreal was dealing with several injuries and missing quite a few players due to a COVID outbreak so they scooped him up.
With the Canadiens, Pitlick had an opportunity to play a much bigger role and made the most of it, picking up nine goals and 17 assists in 46 games while averaging over 17 minutes per game. However, GM Kent Hughes acknowledged during his press conference (Twitter link) that they didn’t want to risk an arbitration hearing with Pitlick which resulted in his non-tender on Monday. Even with that, he gets a small raise on the $917K he made last season and a bit of job security with the two-year term.
Following today’s earlier swap that saw Jeff Petry and Ryan Poehling go to Pittsburgh, the move freed up a roster spot up front and enough cap space to bring Pitlick back. Now, following Pitlick’s addition, the team has a little over $1.2MM in cap space remaining, per CapFriendly. That won’t be enough to sign the recently-acquired Kirby Dach so it appears that Montreal may need to make another move to trim money at some point this summer.
Penguins Acquire Jeff Petry
The Penguins moved out a right-shot defender earlier today when they sent John Marino to New Jersey. It appears he’ll be replaced by Jeff Petry as Pittsburgh has acquired the veteran along with center Ryan Poehling from Montreal in exchange for blueliner Mike Matheson and a 2023 fourth-round pick. Both teams have confirmed the swap.
The 34-year-old is coming off a tough season with Montreal that saw him struggle as their top defender in the absence of Shea Weber. He struggled mightily offensively to start the year as over the first three months of the year, he had just two assists in 27 games. However, Petry’s performance improved following the coaching change that saw Martin St. Louis take over behind the bench and he was much better down the stretch, picking up 21 points in the final three months of the season. Overall, Petry finished up the year with six goals and 21 assists in 68 games, his lowest point total since the 2015-16 campaign, his first full season with the Canadiens.
Around the midway point of the year, he also requested a trade for family reasons. While he was widely expected to move at the trade deadline and again at the draft, it has taken a while for a move to materialize.
Petry has three years left on his contract with a $6.25MM AAV and Montreal GM Kent Hughes stated earlier this week that he wasn’t interested in retaining any salary to facilitate a trade. While the Marino move freed up roughly $3.5MM in cap flexibility, that wasn’t enough to absorb Petry’s full deal which is what prompted Matheson’s inclusion in the swap. Petry had been speculated as a possible replacement for Kris Letang if the veteran was to leave in free agency. Instead, Letang signed a six-year deal and Petry will now help form a quality one-two punch on the right side of their back end with Petry’s AAV checking in just above Letang’s to make him the highest-paid blueliner on the team.
Matheson was a top-four defender early in his career with Florida but his stock started to dip a few years ago, resulting in him being flipped for Patric Hornqvist. The move worked out well for the 28-year-old as he had a career year offensively in 2021-22, picking up 11 goals and 20 assists in 74 games while logging just under 19 minutes a night. He was also quite productive for the Penguins in the playoffs, notching a goal and five helpers in seven games to lead all Pittsburgh blueliners in scoring while averaging over 25 minutes per contest.
Matheson has four years remaining on his contract with a $4.875MM AAV on a deal that is somewhat heavily backloaded with his payout set to jump to $6.5MM per season in each of the final three seasons. He immediately becomes the blueliner with the longest contract on the Canadiens while also being their highest-paid. He’ll likely take the place of Alexander Romanov on Montreal’s depth chart as the youngster was traded back at the draft to the Islanders for the 13th-overall pick which was then flipped to Chicago to pick up center Kirby Dach.
As for Poehling, the 23-year-old was a first-round pick of Montreal back in 2017 (25th overall) and spent most of last season with the Canadiens, notching nine goals and eight assists in 57 games while averaging just over 12 minutes per game. He’s likely to have a similar role in Pittsburgh’s bottom six in 2022-23. Poehling is signed for the league minimum for next season and will be a restricted free agent next summer.
With the move, Pittsburgh now has just under $2MM in cap space with RFA winger Kasperi Kapanen still to sign. That’s not enough for the 25-year-old so it would appear that GM Ron Hextall has another move to try to make. Meanwhile, Montreal frees up a little over $2MM with this swap, giving them a little over $2.3MM in cap room with Dach as their most notable RFA in need of a new deal.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract and cap info courtesy of CapFriendly.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report that Petry was heading to Pittsburgh. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli was the first to report the trade details.
Andrew Ladd Unsure About Playing Next Season
It has been a tough last few seasons for Coyotes winger Andrew Ladd who has struggled to stay healthy and struggled to produce when he has been in the lineup. While he still has one year left on his contract, Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports reports that the veteran is unsure if he wants to play out that final season; his agent J.P. Barry indicated that a decision will be made later this summer when the time comes to start ramping up training in preparation for the season.
The 36-year-old was moved from the Islanders to the Coyotes last summer as New York was looking to free up some much-needed cap space. From an on-ice perspective, the move worked out reasonably well for Ladd who stayed in the NHL all season and got into 51 games after seeing action in just four the year before. Of course, his production (seven goals and five assists) is hardly worthy of the $6.5MM AAV he carried.
Ladd is owed a $3MM signing bonus this summer (which may have already been paid as a lot of bonuses are due at the start of the league year) plus a $1MM base salary which are the numbers that matter most to Arizona, a team that is looking to limit their spending as they go through an extended rebuild. If that money comes off the books, it’s quite possible that they’d turn around and make another trade to take on another undesirable contract as GM Bill Armstrong has done on several occasions already.
The Islanders will also be keeping tabs on this situation. As part of the trade that sent Ladd and two second-round picks (used on defensemen Janis Moser and Mattias Havelid), New York also put in a conditional third-round selection in 2023. Per CapFriendly, that pick will go to the Coyotes if Ladd does not play in any professional games in 2022-23 while under his current contract, or does not retire prior to the conclusion of the 2022-23 regular season. As a result, this situation will be one to keep an eye on in the coming weeks.
Minnesota Signs Liam Ohgren
Minnesota has signed their top draft pick from this month’s draft as the team announced that they’ve signed winger Liam Ohgren to a three-year, entry-level contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The 18-year-old was the 19th-overall selection last week following a strong season in Djurgarden’s system. Ohgren spent part of the year with their junior team and was quite productive offensively, picking up 33 goals and 25 assists in 30 games, earning him the award for the Best Forward in that league in the process. That earned him a lengthy stint with their SHL squad where production and playing time was a lot harder to come by which is quite normal for draft-eligible players. The fact that Ohgren played well enough to stick with the top team for 25 games is impressive in itself.
Ohgren has another year left on his contract with Djurgarden although the fact that he was a first-round pick allows the Wild to control where he plays next season and since he wasn’t drafted out of the CHL, he could go to AHL Iowa right away. However, allowing him to stay at home and play in Djurgarden for one more year wouldn’t be bad for his development as Ohgren would likely spend most of the season at the SHL level this time around. If he doesn’t play in ten games with Minnesota in 2022-23, his contract will slide and still have three years remaining on it a year from now.
Devils Acquire John Marino
The Devils and Penguins have swapped defensemen as New Jersey has acquired defenseman John Marino from Pittsburgh in exchange for blueliner Ty Smith and a 2023 third-round pick. Both teams have announced the swap. Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald released the following statement:
John is a competitive, highly mobile defenseman who strengthens our back end. He takes pride in his game away from the puck and his puck management and ability to transition play will fit in nicely with our style and the strengths of our forward group. This is another move focused on improving our club today, while also providing certainty and stability for roster flexibility as we continue to build.
The 25-year-old Marino made an immediate impact in his rookie season back in 2019-20, recording 26 points in 56 games. Pittsburgh had acquired his rights from Edmonton in the 2019 offseason for a sixth-round pick and that type of immediate return was quite impressive. So much so, in fact, that then-GM Jim Rutherford handed Marino a six-year, $26.4MM contract back in January of 2021, a deal that still has five years remaining.
However, things didn’t go as well for Marino and the Penguins since then. He struggled in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign before rebounding a little bit last season, recording a goal and 24 assists in 81 games while still logging over 20 minutes a night, a number that jumped to over 23 minutes per contest in their first-round playoff loss to the Rangers.
In Marino, New Jersey gets a defender that is capable of playing top-four minutes now as evidenced by the fact that he has averaged over 20 minutes per contest over each of his three NHL seasons. A right-shot rearguard, Marino also gives them some insurance on the right side with Damon Severson a year away from unrestricted free agency. If he departs next summer, Marino could simply take Severson’s spot behind Dougie Hamilton on their depth chart which is likely the stability for roster flexibility that Fitzgerald spoke of in his statement.
As for Smith, the 22-year-old was a first-round pick of the Devils back in 2018 (17th overall) and made a very strong first impression in his rookie year in 2020-21 when he picked up 23 points in 48 games while averaging over 20 minutes a game himself. However, things certainly did not go well last season as his production dropped to 20 points in 66 contests while his defensive metrics took a tumble. Nevertheless, he’s certainly young enough to rebound not unlike Marino did last season.
While Smith is an intriguing addition, the key to the trade for Pittsburgh might very well be the financial flexibility gained. Smith still has a year to go on his entry-level deal, one that carries a cap hit of just $863K plus an additional $400K in performance bonuses. Compared to Marino’s $4.4MM cap charge, Pittsburgh has freed up over $3.5MM in cap space for next season (not including the bonuses). That money is basically all of the cap space they have left which they will need in order to re-sign RFA winger Kasperi Kapanen this summer.
It’s also worth noting that Pittsburgh now has a bit of a logjam on the left side of their back end with Smith joining lefties Brian Dumoulin, Michael Matheson, and Marcus Pettersson. The Penguins have been known to be shopping Pettersson in the past and this type of move could very well intensify the desire to get a trade done, especially if they can free up a little more cap flexibility in the process.
As for New Jersey’s offseason, there is still a lot of work to be done. Per CapFriendly, the Devils have just under $13MM in cap space left following this trade with a big chunk of that set to go to RFA winger Jesper Bratt. Forwards Miles Wood and Jesper Boqvist also need new deals as does recent acquisition Vitek Vanecek; the netminder is in his final year of RFA eligibility and will be looking at a significant raise after making the league minimum the last three years. As a result, their heavy lifting in terms of adding to their roster may be finished with the focus now turning to re-signing their RFAs.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Metropolitan Notes: Jarry, Rangers, Morrow
While Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry is eligible to sign a contract extension at any point now, Tim Benz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review argues that the window to do so is much narrower with GM Ron Hextall’s general hesitance to work on in-season extensions. The 27-year-old has one year left on his deal that carries a $3.5MM cap hit and coming off a season that saw him post a 2.42 GAA with a .919 SV% in 58 games, he has a strong case to add a couple million to his next AAV based on the contracts handed out to the top goalies in free agency earlier this week. With that in mind, Benz suggests that Pittsburgh’s best strategy might be to wait as with so much of their roster locked up long-term already, if the team wants to have any sort of roster flexibility at all, it might have to come from the goaltending position and locking up Jarry now would take away that option.
More from the Metropolitan:
- While the Rangers have nearly $5MM in cap space left per CapFriendly, they still have to re-sign RFA winger Kaapo Kakko and add a depth defender or two. Beyond that, Larry Brooks of the New York Post suggests that GM Chris Drury should be sitting on his remaining cap space rather than trying to find a way to add another piece this summer. New York didn’t need to rely on banking in-season cap space a year ago since they were well under the Upper Limit but that won’t be the case anymore. Accordingly, if they think they’re going to want to add a piece or two in-season, the only way to have a chance of doing that is to bank as much cap space as possible early on to create enough room for those additions closer to the trade deadline.
- Hurricanes GM Don Waddell told Luke DeCock of the Raleigh News & Observer that he expects prospect defenseman Scott Morrow to turn pro after next season. The 19-year-old was a second-round selection (40th overall) back in 2021 but played quite well at UMass in his freshman year, notching 13 goals and 20 assists in just 38 games. If he’s able to build on that performance in 2022-23, Waddell feels that Morrow would be reaching a point where there will be nothing left to work on in college even though he’d still have two years of eligibility left at that point.
Penguins Sign Owen Pickering
The Penguins have signed their top selection from the draft earlier this month, announcing that they’ve signed blueliner Owen Pickering to a three-year, entry-level contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The 18-year-old was the 21st pick by Pittsburgh earlier this month following a strong season with Swift Current of the WHL where he had 33 points in 62 games in his first full major junior season. Now standing 6’4, Pickering had a late growth spurt and will need some time to fill out his frame before he’s ready to even consider playing in the pros. He’s the first first-round pick from the Broncos since Boston took Jake DeBrusk 14th overall back in 2015.
Pickering’s contract is eligible to slide a year if he doesn’t play in ten NHL games next season (and it’s doubtful he will see any NHL action). As a result, he’ll still have three years left on his deal after this one, likely at a slightly lower cap hit assuming his contract has signing bonuses which is quite normal for first-round selections.