Boston Bruins Extend Don Sweeney
The Boston Bruins have made it official, signing general manager Don Sweeney to a multi-year contract extension. The move comes just as his current contract was set to expire, and keeps him at the head of the front office for the foreseeable future.
Bruins’ CEO Charlie Jacobs released a statement:
We are proud to extend Don Sweeney to a multi-year contract as General Manager of the Boston Bruins. Under his management, the Boston Bruins have been one of the winningest franchises in the league and a perennial playoff contender year in and year out. While we recognize there is work to be done to achieve the ultimate goal of bringing the Stanley Cup back to Boston, I’m confident that Don’s commitment to being best-in-class on and off the ice will help us climb that mountain once again.
Team president Cam Neely also expressed praise and confidence in his general manager, explaining that he believes Sweeney is committed to doing “whatever it takes” to give the Bruins the best chance at winning the Stanley Cup.
Since the end of the season, which saw the Bruins exit the first round at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes, Sweeney has drawn plenty of criticism. The firing of well-liked head coach Bruce Cassidy just a few days after he was told he would be back, some eyebrow-raising comments from a source close to winger David Pastrnak, and the still unresolved issue of Patrice Bergeron‘s future have made Sweeney the target of many fans’ ire.
Named general manager in 2015, Sweeney has taken the Bruins to the playoffs in each of the last six seasons, including a run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2019. The team has drafted and developed players like Charlie McAvoy, Jeremy Swayman, Brandon Carlo, and Jake DeBrusk in that time as well, a huge chunk of the team’s current core. Taylor Hall, Charlie Coyle, Hampus Lindholm, and others represent trades that Sweeney orchestrated as well.
It’s the other moves, including several missed draft picks and trades that have taken players like Ryan Lindgren out of the organization that draw so much criticism and have made Sweeney such a hot-button topic for Bruins fans, and what will likely make the reaction to this news rather negative.
The team did not detail how many years the new contract is for. Sweeney is in the process of conducting a search for the team’s next head coach.
Vancouver Canucks Sign Three Players
The Vancouver Canucks have tidied up some minor league negotiations, signing Sheldon Dries, Guillaume Brisebois, and John Stevens to two-way contracts. Dries has been signed for two years, while Brisbois and Stevens have both agreed to one-year deals. CapFriendly provides some details on the contracts:
- Dries: 2022-23: $750K NHL/$450K AHL – 2023-24: $775K NHL/$450K AHL
- Brisebois: $750K NHL/$180K AHL
- Stevens: $750K NHL/$165K AHL ($180K guaranteed)
Now 28, the undrafted Dries is coming off the best season of his professional career. In 54 games with the Abbotsford Canucks, the undersized forward managed 35 goals and 62 points, while also spending a good bit of time in the NHL. Eleven games with Vancouver resulted in three points, and have earned him some organizational stability on a two-year deal.
While it is unlikely that he plays all 82 next season, Dries should continue to be a strong depth option for Vancouver and an elite option for Abbotsford. He’ll have to clear waivers again in order to be assigned to the minor leagues but that hasn’t been an issue previously.
Brisebois, 24, was unfortunately injured for a good portion of 2021-22, limiting him to just 26 games for Abbotsford and one for Vancouver. The big defenseman was a third-round pick in 2015 and has played in ten NHL games to this point. He too had no trouble clearing waivers this season and will likely be ticketed for the minor leagues once again in 2022-23.
Stevens, 28, is also coming off his best season as a pro, racking up 19 goals and 43 points with Abbotsford. Still without an appearance at the NHL level, the undrafted forward is finally healthy and ready to contribute at the AHL level, something that has been a struggle in the past.
The Canucks have put a huge emphasis on improving the quality of players for their AHL organization and are trying to make it as competitive an atmosphere as possible for their prospects. These three will help Abbotsford remain in the mix next season, pushing for a longer Calder Cup playoff run.
Toronto Maple Leafs Extend Timothy Liljegren
After becoming a regular with the team this season, Timothy Liljegren has earned a raise. The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed the young defenseman to a two-year contract extension that will come with an average annual value of $1.4MM. Liljegren was scheduled to become a restricted free agent this summer.
Selected 17th overall in 2017, it has been a bit of a bumpy ride for the young defenseman to this point. He came over to North America immediately following his draft and was one of the youngest players in the AHL, but when he struggled to make the leap to the next level, some wondered whether he ever would be a real contributor for the Maple Leafs.
That jump came about this season, when the 23-year-old played in 61 games, recording 23 points and putting up outstanding possession statistics. Though some of that is due to being deployed against weaker competition, there were times when Liljegren was arguably Toronto’s most effective defenseman, especially when paired late in the year with Mark Giordano.
Still, when the playoffs came around his inexperience showed, and head coach Sheldon Keefe decided to remove him from the lineup in favor of Justin Holl and Ilya Lyubushkin partway through the series. With this new deal in hand, Holl on the last year of his contract, and Lyubushkin an unrestricted free agent, there is a clear path forward for Liljegren as a top-four option in Toronto.
Whether he can handle that increased responsibility remains to be seen but for a team that has struggled to produce many homegrown defensemen, his development was one of the biggest positives of this year. If that upward trajectory continues, the $1.4MM cap hit could look like a steal as soon as next season, and help the Maple Leafs fit in even more talent around the edges of the roster. The fact that it leaves him as a restricted free agent is important, though he will be eligible for arbitration at its expiry.
It will be interesting to see if this deal is a template for fellow RFA Rasmus Sandin, who has shown similar upside in his short time in the NHL and also needs a new contract this summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Florida Panthers Extend Matt Kiersted
The Florida Panthers have signed Matt Kiersted to a two-year contract extension, keeping him from restricted free agency. CapFriendly reports the deal will be a two-way contract in 2022-23 worth $750K at the NHL level and a one-way contract in 2023-24 worth $775K. General manager Bill Zito released a short statement:
Matt made great strides this year in his first full professional season, showing his skill as an exciting young defenseman. We are looking forward to his continued growth within our organization.
Kiersted, 24, was an undrafted free agent signing out of the University of North Dakota in 2021, and had a very strong debut season in the Panthers system. Playing mostly for the Charlotte Checkers, he racked up 20 points in 63 AHL games and added two more in ten NHL contests. The puck-moving defenseman is a very nice depth piece for the team to carry, especially given the tight cap situation the team will soon find itself in.
With Ben Chiarot, Robert Hagg, Markus Nutivaara, Chase Priskie, and Petteri Lindbohm all scheduled for unrestricted free agency, much of the team’s defensive depth may be on its way out the door. Bringing Kiersted back as the seventh or eighth option was a no-brainer, especially given he will still be waiver-exempt at the start of next season, able to go up and down between levels without issue.
The two-year deal will walk him directly to Group VI unrestricted free agency if he fails to get a substantial opportunity in Florida, meaning Kiersted is setting himself up nicely for the next few years as well. He even may compete for a full-time role depending on how the rest of the offseason shakes out, or potentially help replace some of the outgoing talent in 2023-24. MacKenzie Weegar and Radko Gudas both only have one year left on their current contracts, and while the former is an obvious candidate for extension, the latter may be getting closer to the end with the club, opening up another roster spot down the line.
Anthony Greco Signs In SHL
The New York Rangers don’t have to worry about signing at least one of their pending unrestricted free agents. Anthony Greco, who was a key player for their AHL affiliate, has taken his talents to Sweden, signing a one-year deal with Frolunda of the SHL.
Greco, 28, saw one game in the NHL this season, just the second of his lengthy professional career. The undrafted college talent has been an excellent producer in the minor leagues, scoring 235 points in 360 games, including 59 in 66 this year for the Hartford Wolf Pack. Now as he heads overseas, there’s no telling if he’ll ever suit up for another NHL match.
The Rangers of course have plenty of other free agents to worry about, including Andrew Copp, Ryan Strome, and Frank Vatrano. Losing Greco will take away a bit of depth from the organization but with more young players ready to make the jump to the AHL, he wasn’t really necessary any longer. In Sweden, he’ll actually have quite a short offseason, as he joins the team on August 1 to prepare.
A one-year deal will leave him 29 at its expiry, an unrestricted free agent once again.
Maxim Mamin Linked To KHL
After returning to the Florida Panthers this season, Maxim Mamin appeared to have re-established himself as a legitimate NHL option. The Russian forward is a pending unrestricted free agent and could have been an interesting pickup for teams looking to add a bit of scoring punch on an inexpensive contract. That might not be happening, at least for anyone in North America, as Russian news agency TASS is reporting that Mamin has signed a new three-year contract with CSKA Moscow in the KHL.
Originally selected by the Panthers in the sixth round of the 2016 draft, there always was worry about whether Mamin would ever come to North America. He was a born-and-bred CSKA player, a top program in the KHL, but Florida managed to convince him in 2017, adding him to the NHL roster. That stint lasted just 33 games though, as he returned to Russia partway through the 2018-19 season after failing to get regular ice time.
Three years later and he was back, though it still wouldn’t be exactly what he envisioned. Not only would he start the year in the minor leagues but Mamin would find himself on the taxi squad again partway through the year, and deal with an injury that cost him nearly a month. That led to just 40 NHL appearances, scoring seven goals and 14 points. He did also get into four postseason matches but was held scoreless.
With the Panthers facing more important free agent negotiations, it seemed likely that Mamin would end up on the open market either way. Now, if the report from TASS proves true and he’s heading home, it could essentially end his time in the NHL. In 73 career games, he scored ten goals and 18 points.
Five Key Stories: 6/20/22 – 6/26/22
With the offseason frenzy nearly upon us, activity around the league is starting to pick up. Here’s a rundown of the biggest news from the past seven days.
DeBoer To Dallas: The Stars have found their new head coach as they hired Peter DeBoer, signing him to a four-year deal worth roughly $4.25MM per season. It took a little while for him to enter the coaching market with Vegas taking their time to make a decision on his future before ultimately letting him go. DeBoer has bounced around as this will be his fifth NHL team behind the bench but his best years came with the Golden Knights as he helped lead the team to a 98-50-12 record in 160 regular season games plus a 22-17 record in the playoffs. He’ll take over for Rick Bowness who agreed to step away after the Stars were eliminated in the opening round of the postseason.
Smith To Return: While the deal isn’t expected to be announced for a little while due to salary cap and tagging reasons, the Golden Knights have reportedly agreed to a three-year deal with winger Reilly Smith to keep him around. The agreement is believed to carry an AAV of around $5MM which also happens to be the AAV he has had for the last five years. The 31-year-old has been a key piece for Vegas through their first five years of existence and actually sits third in scoring in their brief franchise history. Smith is coming off a bit of a bounce-back season after a tough showing in 2020-21 as he collected 38 points in 56 games. If he can stay healthy and put up close to 50 points (he played at a 56-point pace this year), he’ll provide the Golden Knights with a decent return on this deal but GM Kelly McCrimmon still has a lot of work to do this summer to get this team cap-compliant.
Maurice To Florida: Andrew Brunette did well taking over from Joel Quenneville early in the season, helping to lead the Panthers to a 51-18-6 record while Florida took home the Presidents’ Trophy. That helped earn him a Jack Adams Award nomination but it didn’t help him keep his job as the team announced that they’ve hired Paul Maurice as their new head coach, signing him to a three-year deal worth just under $4MM per year. Maurice stepped away from the Jets midseason but his time away from the game was rather short. He has 24 years of NHL head coaching experience under his belt and will now be tasked with trying to get the team over the playoff hump after they were swept in the second round by Tampa Bay. As for Brunette, it remains to be seen if he’ll go back to being an assistant as he was at the beginning of the season or if he’ll look to join another organization.
News From Winnipeg: Early on in their coaching search, it was clear that Winnipeg’s preference for their next head coach was Barry Trotz, a Manitoba native. Trotz gave the job offer serious consideration but decided to decline it and will not be behind the bench to start next season. Meanwhile, there could be changes coming to their forward group as well. The team is believed to be exploring the trade market for captain Blake Wheeler. The 35-year-old overcame a slow start to pick up 60 points in 65 games but with two years left on his deal with a cap hit of $8.25MM. Between that and a trade-to list of just five teams, however, the market for him might not be too strong. Then there’s center Pierre-Luc Dubois. The pending restricted free agent has informed the team that his intention is to test unrestricted free agency when he’s eligible in 2024. Dubois, who was acquired for another player whose willingness to sign long-term was in question (Patrik Laine), had 60 points of his own this season with a new career-high in goals with 28. His hesitancy to sign a long-term agreement could ultimately dictate their plans for Mark Schiefele as it’s unlikely they’d part with both of their top centers in the same summer.
Richardson To Chicago: While an agreement hasn’t been made official yet, the Blackhawks have found their next head coach as they will be hiring Luke Richardson away from Montreal, where he had served as an assistant coach for the last four years. The 53-year-old played more than 1,400 games in the NHL as a defenseman and has been a coach basically ever since then; he kicked off his coaching NHL career in the same season that he played his final two games. Chicago is about to embark on a sizable rebuild so it’s not surprising they went with a first-time head coach with a reputation for being player-friendly. The contract is expected to be finalized sometime this coming week.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Offseason Checklist: Dallas Stars
With the offseason in full swing aside from the two teams in the Stanley Cup Final, it’s time to examine what each squad will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at the Stars.
The Stars were able to secure the top Wild Card spot in the West this season, allowing them to avoid Colorado in the opening round. They were close to pulling off the upset against Calgary but came up just short, resulting in a significant move behind the bench with Peter DeBoer taking over for Rick Bowness; the rest of the staff will need to be filled out. In terms of their on-ice personnel, GM Jim Nill has some work to do this summer.
Re-Sign Or Replace Klingberg
John Klingberg‘s contract situation is something that loomed over the club all season long. While both sides have expressed a desire for him to stick around, they didn’t appear to be close during the regular season which led to what ranged from either a full trade request to Klingberg being extremely upset about the state of negotiations, depending on various reports. At one point, his camp was given permission to speak to other teams which resulted in plenty of trade speculation leading up to the trade deadline although a trade obviously didn’t happen.
Now, the contractual situation jumps back to the forefront. Klingberg was believed to be seeking a max-term eight-year deal with reports putting the AAV around the $8MM mark which would be nearly double the $4.25MM he had been getting for the past seven seasons. The 29-year-old certainly has a strong case for the big jump as well. He’s coming off a year where he collected 47 points in 74 games while only seven blueliners have more points than him over his eight-year NHL career. He’s going to be one of the top players to get to the open market this summer.
Accordingly, Nill has a big decision to make. Does he move close enough to Klingberg’s asking price at the eight-year term (which may not be too enticing since he turns 30 in August) or does he make other plans to replace him? With some other big contracts on the horizon (more on those shortly), can they afford another pricey long-term commitment or would they be better off trying to sign or acquire a cheaper, shorter-term replacement? Nill only has a couple more weeks to ponder that decision.
New Deal For Robertson
After spending most of his first professional season in the minors, Jason Robertson has quickly emerged as a legitimate top winger and in his first full year in the NHL, he provided Dallas with 41 goals (including a league-high 11 game-winners) and 79 points. With the 22-year-old hitting restricted free agency for the first time this summer, he’s in line for a significant raise compared to his rookie deal.
Nill undoubtedly would like to sign Robertson to a long-term contract that buys out a few UFA-eligible seasons but that will be a tough task even with nearly $20MM in cap space simply because of who else needs to sign. A long-term contract could jump into the $9MM range based on recent comparables including Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov (five years, $45MM) which would eat up about half of their cap space with that one and could prohibit them from keeping Klingberg in the fold or finding a similar replacement. On top of that, Nill acknowledged earlier this month that the anticipated jump in the Upper Limit of the cap a couple of years from now could push prominent RFAs like Robertson into preferring a short-term deal.
With that in mind, a bridge contract, one that could free up enough cap room to try to take care of another pending free agent, seems like the probable outcome. But even that will carry a high price tag. Recent comparable players would put a deal for him in the $7MM range so the net savings compared to a long-term deal would be in the $2MM range. With those deals, teams can get creative with the salary structure to yield a higher qualifying offer at its expiration which is something Robertson’s camp would likely push for if they go this route. Worth noting, Robertson does not have arbitration eligibility and we’ve seen several in his situation wait until closer to training camp to put pen to paper on a contract.
Sign A Goalie Tandem
Another prominent restricted free agent this summer is goaltender Jake Oettinger. He actually started this season in the minors but did so well after being recalled that he never went back. The 23-year-old wound up posting a 2.53 GAA along with a .914 SV% in 48 games during the regular season and then was stellar in seven playoff contests, nearly helping them to get past Calgary despite facing an average of just over 40 shots per game.
This negotiation has the potential to be a bit of a longer one. Part of that will be due to a lack of experience at the NHL level as Oettinger has just 77 regular season games under his belt. Not a lot of goalies get pricey long-term deals with that limited experience. Even if they do want to work out something on a longer-term basis, their hands will largely be tied with what happens with Klingberg’s new deal or replacement as well as Robertson’s new deals. If both receive long-term expensive pacts, it’s going to force their hand into a short-term bridge agreement. As Robertson’s case could take a while, that could drag Oettinger’s discussions out accordingly.
There’s also the matter of figuring out their backup goalie. Braden Holtby had a nice bounce-back year with his best numbers since 2016-17 and while he’s not going to be considered as a top starter this summer, he could command a decent raise on the $2MM he made this season on a multi-year agreement. Dallas might not be able to afford that. Scott Wedgewood bounced around with three different teams this season but did well enough to be in the mix for a team that’s looking to save some money on their backup. A one-way deal around the $1MM mark should be doable for him, giving him some rare job security in the process.
The Stars do still have Anton Khudobin under contract but after a year filled with injuries and struggles, they’ll undoubtedly be looking to get out of the final year and $3.33MM of his deal so he probably won’t be in their plans so they’ll need to sign both ends of their tandem for next season.
Hintz Extension Talks
While the first three parts of this are the biggest priority for Nill, he’s also expected to look into what a contract extension would cost for forward Roope Hintz. Very quietly over the last couple of years, the 25-year-old has emerged as a viable top center and with a cap hit on his bridge deal of $3.25MM, Hintz has become one of the biggest bargains in the NHL.
That will change in the near future. Hintz will enter the final season of his contract once the new league year begins on July 13th which means he’ll be eligible to sign an extension at that time. Hintz had 37 goals and 35 assists this past season, good for career-highs in both categories but with DeBoer expected to play a more attack-oriented style, it’s reasonable to expect that Hintz could set new benchmarks in 2022-23. If that happens, the price tag will only go up.
Hintz will only have one RFA-eligible year remaining when his current deal expires so, unlike Robertson or Oettinger, there isn’t an option to do a short-term contract to massage their cap situation. If they can’t agree on a long-term deal, it’s possible that Hintz files for arbitration and takes a one-year award that takes him to the open market. A long-term contract should eclipse the $7MM mark and their ability to offer such a deal may very well be determinant on what contracts Robertson and Oettinger wind up with. When it comes to their summer spending and planning, everything is intertwined and this file, even though it doesn’t technically come up for another year, is no exception.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
PHR Mailbag: Wild, Bruins, Devils’ Draft Pick, DeBrincat, Predators, Hockey Trades, Rangers, Coyotes, Forsberg
Topics in this edition of the PHR Mailbag include Boston’s offseason, discussing which route is the best to take for Nashville, candidates for ‘hockey’ trades, and more. If your question doesn’t appear here, check back in either last weekend’s mailbag or Saturday’s Detroit-specific column.
Zakis: Who will be the Wild’s primary goalie for the ’22-’23 season?
I’m going to say Cam Talbot. While their Plan A is to re-sign Marc-Andre Fleury, with everything else they have to navigate this summer, I’m leery that they’ll be able to do so unless Fleury takes below his market value to stay there. I expect Minnesota will have to be a bit more frugal while looking for their second netminder. While they’re probably not going to wind up with a low-end, cheap second-stringer, I have a hard time thinking that second goalie will play more than Talbot, barring injury.
Assuming that happens, Talbot should check in around 50-55 starts, a mark he’d have reached this season had it not been for Fleury’s acquisition back at the trade deadline. Getting that many starts will be important for him as well since the 34-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent in the 2023 offseason and playing a number one workload would certainly help his cause next summer on the open market.
Nha Trang: I’d ask “What the hell were the Bruins thinking?” except that everyone in hockey knows the answer.
MoneyBallJustWorks: Thoughts on Sweeney being canned and ending up in Vegas?
BOSsports21: Piggybacking off a couple B’s questions already – the Bruins need a teardown and rebuild. It’s not something B’s fans want to hear, but they have only a couple of good prospects and no cap room. They weren’t really a Cup contender this past year and now they want to bring in a younger coach. If you’re the GM, do you sell off as much as you can to obtain assets? I feel Pastrnak and Marchand will not be the same without Bergeron if he retires. Even if he comes back, it’ll probably only be for a year. Might as well get good value for Pastrnak and Marchand to re-stock the bare cupboard. Thoughts?
Let’s put some Boston questions together. GM Don Sweeney’s decision to part ways with Bruce Cassidy certainly raised some eyebrows and the fact that several teams immediately pursued him indicates that his perception around the league is much more positive than it was in Boston’s front office. Obviously, they felt the playoff underperformance was cause for concern and there has been plenty of speculation about other factors but that’s simply speculation.
There’s a good chance that whoever Sweeney hires will be his last hire as Boston’s head coach. He’s one of the longer-tenured general managers in the league but most are only able to make a couple of coaching changes before they’re heading out the door. As for joining Vegas when that happens, never say never, even with what I suspect was a sarcastic question. Vegas isn’t exactly known for patience in the early going and if they struggle over the next year or two, there could be front office changes following soon after.
Boston has operated as a team that isn’t likely to rebuild, especially with the moves they’ve made in the last few years. They don’t give Taylor Hall a four-year deal and then acquire and extend Hampus Lindholm with an eye on rebuilding. With the injuries they’ll be dealing with to start next season, a short-term step back was at least justifiable. But with Patrice Bergeron now expected to return, that idea goes out the window; he’s not coming back to help ease the team through a short-term teardown. That takes the idea of potentially trading Pastrnak and Marchand (the latter of which was probably unlikely to happen anyway) off the table.
W H Twittle: If so, could a trade be built on the basis of Pastrnak for NJ’s 2022 #2 draft pick? Obviously, NJ would need to add a couple of A pieces… that may include their 2023 1st round pick and an A prospect?
Let’s get another Boston one in here. No, I don’t believe David Pastrnak for that second selection is a viable option for either side. But as I just noted, the Bruins aren’t bringing Bergeron back to then turn around and start selling off key players. If that was the route they were taking, Bergeron would be hanging up his skates. If things don’t go well during the season, that could very well change closer to the trade deadline but this type of trade certainly won’t be on the table at that time.
Moving that second pick (and potentially other assets) for Pastrnak makes little sense for the Devils either. If they’re going to move a premium draft pick, it will be for someone in the prime of their career that has several years of team control left (either through being under contract or club control). They’re not moving that pick for a rental player that still probably doesn’t get them into the playoffs next season. And if I’m Pastrnak, with all due respect to New Jersey, I’m not passing up a chance at testing the market to sign a long-term contract with them.
I think people are getting a little too hyped up about the idea of New Jersey moving this draft pick. They’re not shopping the it, they’re simply listening to offers and coming up with a list of players that could make sense to trade for that fit their parameters. Those parameters would involve club control and long-term salary cap planning, among other elements. I don’t think there would be more than four or five players league-wide on that list. Of those, how many will actually be available to move? Maybe two? If GM Tom Fitzgerald doesn’t get the perfect (and I mean perfect, not a ‘close enough’ scenario) offer, they’ll happily keep that pick. There are more ways to get an impact player than by trading a high lottery selection.
Johnny Z: Some have the Flyers being interested in acquiring DeBrincat, what would that look like?
While I, like many, expect Philadelphia to shake things up in terms of their core forwards, I don’t think it’d be for Alex DeBrincat. He’s under the old rule for qualifying offers so he’ll be owed a minimum of $9MM for his qualifier in 2023 although if he has another year like this one, he’ll be getting more than that. That’s going to be tough to fit into their salary structure.
Then there’s the acquisition cost. Chicago would undoubtedly want the fifth-overall pick and with the situation the Flyers are in, moving that pick wouldn’t be wise. That’s their chance to get an impact, cost-controllable player to work into the lineup a couple of years from now to help offset some of their more bloated veteran deals. I know they’re in win-now mode, but moving that pick isn’t a good idea.
There needs to be a cap element to the deal to help offset DeBrincat’s current $6.4MM AAV. That could be James van Riemsdyk but if the Blackhawks don’t want to take that contract back, Oskar Lindblom’s $3MM deal could be an option. Another first-round pick (their own in 2023) would need to be in there. I could see Chicago asking about someone like Morgan Frost or Owen Tippett, former first-rounders that haven’t lit it up just yet. There would probably be another prospect in there as well. That’s a big package for a non-playoff team to pay, especially since DeBrincat alone probably doesn’t get them back to the playoffs.
If I’m GM Chuck Fletcher, I’d rather pay a quality pick or prospect to offload van Riemsdyk’s deal without taking money back and then take a serious run at Johnny Gaudreau in free agency. If they did that and Gaudreau agreed to sign, they’d get a top-line winger without giving up a lot of their cost-controllable future. But if I was Fletcher, I wouldn’t have made the Rasmus Ristolainen trade last summer either so even if I don’t think it’s a good idea, he might be thinking differently.
GBear: It’s July and Gbear has won the lottery and bought the Preds and fired David Poile. I’m bringing in Brian La Rose to interview for the vacant GM position. What moves would you make this offseason and who are you taking with the #17 pick of the draft? :)
Congrats on the big lottery win that allows you to swoop in and outbid Bill Haslam for the team. Before I can answer though, my question to you is what’s my mandate? Do I have the ability to do what I think is best or do you want some playoff revenue? The two options aren’t the same.
Assuming you give me the ability to tear it down, that’s what I’d be looking to do. I don’t think adding a piece or two to this core is going to vault them into contender status. The Predators can keep treading water or they can take a step back and try to reload. I’d look to leverage Matt Duchene’s season as a way to get out of his contract and take a cheaper one back. That scenario was far-fetched last summer but a 43-goal season changes things. Someone’s going to be desperate for a center later in the offseason and there’s an opportunity to strike. I don’t see that being feasible for Ryan Johansen though.
I wouldn’t re-sign Filip Forsberg in that scenario and instead would use the cap space to take on a player from somewhere else, adding picks or prospects for doing so as Arizona has done recently. Ideally, said player then would be flipped with retention at the deadline for another pick or prospect. I’d make Mattias Ekholm available and try to leverage the lack of impact left-shot defenders available in free agency into a significant futures-based return. With teams looking for a starting goalie, Juuse Saros could be had for a significant return; I’d be comfortable with some veteran buffers for a couple of years until Yaroslav Askarov is NHL-ready. I’d aim for a two-year or three-year retooling so Roman Josi would stick around. I’d want to see more minutes for Tanner Jeannot, Philip Tomasino, Eeli Tolvanen, and Alexandre Carrier to see if they’re part of the long-term plans so any cap dumps I’d pick up would be for lower roles on the roster. Philippe Myers gets flipped for whatever the best offer is with the acquiring team getting a cap credit (a move that should be made in both win-now and sell-now scenarios). Since this answer can’t go on forever, that’s a very quick overview of what my plan would be.
Now, if you’re telling me you want early playoff revenues, then it’s a much different approach. Filip Forsberg gets his eight years around $8MM. I’d target Vegas to try to add Nicolas Roy, giving the Preds a third center with some upside. He’s a strong offer sheet target with their cap situation so this could be a chance to add to the position without the return being super high. Andre Burakovsky would be a target to add on the wing to provide a two-way element while still boosting the scoring potential of the second line, shifting some of those younger players onto the third line to really balance out the attack.
On defense, I’d like someone like Josh Manson to shore up the back end but so would a lot of other teams. I’d go into the upper $4MM range for his services which might not be enough to get it done. Ideally, a physical shutdown defender that can take some pressure off the younger players and deepen the back end is the target.
The only reason there’s enough cap space to do all of this is the goaltending. I’d use Connor Ingram as the backup for Saros over. I think he has legitimate NHL upside and sneaking him through waivers isn’t going to happen. His $758K cap hit provides some extra cap flexibility to upgrade an extra spot on the roster and I’d rather put money towards an every-game player over someone who probably is only going to play 20-25 times since there isn’t a big difference between Ingram and a $2MM to $3MM backup. Those additions should be enough to keep the Preds in the playoff hunt for the next couple of years and perhaps even win a round and from there, you never know what can happen.
It’s hard to forecast who’s going to be available with the 17th pick but someone like Denton Mateychuk fits as someone in that range. He’s a bit undersized but is a good offensive defenseman and adding someone to take some pressure off Josi when he slows down would help. A center would be preferable though given the state of their prospect pool so Marco Kasper would also be high on my list. He hasn’t looked out of place in the SHL and there’s a good defensive floor to work with. I think there’s second-line upside with the offensive and a two-way top-six center would be a nice addition in the middle of the first round.
Looking At Nino Niederreiter’s Impending Free Agency
With a strong group of free agent forwards including the likes of Johnny Gaudreau, Evgeni Malkin, Filip Forsberg, Claude Giroux, Phil Kessel, Ondrej Palat, Valeri Nichushkin, Andre Burakovsky amongst others, teams that are looking to add some production up front don’t have to look too far for a worthy candidate. One name that seemingly hasn’t been at the forefront thus far is Nino Niederreiter of the Carolina Hurricanes. Once a blue-chip prospect and fifth overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders, Niederreiter’s career fell on hard-times rather quickly. The forward was fine in his NHL debut in 2010-11, recording two points in nine games, but struggled to an abysmal one goal and zero assists in 55 games as a rookie in 2011-12. He would spend all of 2012-13 in the AHL before being traded to the Minnesota Wild ahead of the 2013-14 season.
After being traded to the Wild, Niederreiter began to show why the Islanders made him the fifth-overall selection, establishing himself as a power-forward and a reliable goal scorer at that. Since then, Niederreiter has played parts of nine seasons split between the Wild and the Hurricanes, hitting the 20-goal mark six times in that span. In 2021-22, his age-29 season, Niederreiter had one of his best seasons for the Metropolitan Division winning Hurricanes, putting up 24 goals and 20 assists in 75 games. Now almost 30-years-old, Niederreiter finds himself set to be an UFA for the first time in his career at the conclusion of a five-year, $26.25MM contract.
For his next contract, Niederreiter probably won’t hit the max term of seven years (eight if he remains with Carolina or whomever acquires his rights, if applicable), and his AAV would more likely than not sit somewhere between $4MM and $6MM, just as it was the previous five seasons. In terms of comparable players for his next contract, Niederreiter has a few intriguing options, the first of which is St. Louis Blues forward Brandon Saad, who signed a five-year, $22.5MM contract last offseason as an UFA, which carries a $4.5MM cap hit. Looking at points-per-game (to account for COVID-19 schedule differences), in Saad’s three years prior to his free agency, he recorded 0.59, 0.57, and most recently, 0.55 points-per-game. Coming off a six-year, $36MM contract, Saad found his AAV regress, but still secured a long-term contract.
Jordan Eberle, another former Islander, signed a five-year, $27.5MM contract after the 2018-19 season, carrying a $5.5MM AAV. That contract, like Saad’s, came on the heels of a six-year, $36MM deal. Eberle began his career with the Edmonton Oilers as a star forward, recording as many as 76 points in a season, but eventually had that production drop off. Leading up to his current contract, Eberle averaged 0.62, 0.73, and finally 0.47 points-per-game, a sharp drop in production in the final year. One last comparison is Patric Hornqvist, who carries a $5.3MM cap hit on the five-year, $26.5MM contract he signed before the 2018-19 season. Leading up to Hornqvist’s free agency, he recorded 0.62, 0.63, and 0.70 points-per-game, featuring a 29-goal platform season.
Comparing Saad, Eberle, and Hornqvist to Niederreiter’s previous three seasons of 0.43, 0.61, and 0.59 points-per-game leading up to his free agency shows the free-agent-to-be in the middle of these three. One thing that is particularly clear is that Niederreiter will be able to find term if he wants it, all three of these similar players signing five-year contracts. A key difference between the four players is their year-to-year consistency. Eberle had a fantastic 2017-18 season before a tough 2018-19 heading into free agency, while Hornqvist gradually improved. Saad was fairly consistent year to year, with Niederreiter improving and settling in in the two years prior to free agency.
In the flat salary cap era presently affecting all 32 NHL teams, cap usage is a primary concern for clubs, which could serve to limit the cap hits of free agents. In addition to that, there is a relatively deep market of offensive-minded wingers like Niederreiter. The veteran could use these concerns however, to his advantage, perhaps allowing teams to sign their first option, and being available at a cost to those who miss out. Salary aside, Niederreiter has shown through his play, and his comparable players, that he is deserving of a long-term deal, even if it isn’t at the maximum term.
As far as retaining Niederreiter, the Hurricanes have just under $20MM in cap space, but do have several other UFAs including Vincent Trocheck and Max Domi, and have to give new deals to pending RFAs Martin Necas, Ethan Bear, and Anthony DeAngelo. If the destination is not Carolina, the forward could, as mentioned, posit himself as the backup for a team that missed out on their first or even second target in the free agent or trade market. He can also market himself towards teams who seek to add some grit and bite while also adding a point-producing middle-six forward, something the market isn’t necessarily deep in.