Columbus Blue Jackets Extend Eric Robinson
The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed Eric Robinson to a two-year contract extension, according to PuckPedia. The deal will carry an average annual value of $1.6MM.
Robinson, 26, still had one year left on his previous contract that will pay him $975K this season, but will now be locked up through 2023-24. He’ll earn $1.5MM in 2022-23 and $1.7MM in 2023-24, reaching unrestricted free agency at the end of the deal. An undrafted free agent signing out of Princeton in 2018, Robinson has now played 120 NHL games. He registered eight goals and 18 points this season, filling out a bottom-six role nicely.
This new deal bets that he can continue in that role, but for a team that is going through a transition period after the trade of Seth Jones it doesn’t come with much risk. At worst, he struggles to improve his offensive production and stays on the fourth-line, at best he provides a little extra secondary scoring for a reasonable price. For a player that has worked extremely hard for everything he’s earned as a professional, not a bad gamble to take.
Seattle Kraken Expected To Sign Alexander Wennberg
TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that the Seattle Kraken are expected to sign free-agent center Alexander Wennberg when the market opens. The contract is coming in at three years with a cap hit of $4.5MM.
Wennberg revitalized his career on a one-year deal with the Florida Panthers this past season, but this contract may still surprise some. After all, Wennberg was bought out of a contract with a similar remaining term and AAV by the Columbus Blue Jackets just last year after several years of failing to meet expectations. He recovered in Sunrise with 29 points in 56 games, but even this was only a full season pace of 42 points. The Kraken will expect him to do more with less based on his AAV.
Wennberg does fill an important role for the expansion team, which was lacking depth down the middle. Wennberg will also be a contributor to both special teams units. At 26, there is still room for growth from the big forward and he will be asked to take on a larger role in Seattle than he ever has before. It will be sink or swim for the newest Kraken.
Golden Knights To Acquire Evgenii Dadonov
The Golden Knights freed up plenty of cap space yesterday with the trade of Marc-Andre Fleury to Chicago. A good chunk of that money will be used on winger Evgenii Dadonov as ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that Vegas is acquiring the veteran from the Senators in exchange for defenseman Nick Holden and a 2022 third-round draft pick. The Senators have confirmed the deal.
Dadonov, 32, was a surprising signing by the Senators last off-season, as the rebuilding club landed one of the top veteran forwards on the open market. The results were underwhelming, as Dadonov’s streak of three straight seasons of 25+ goals was snapped with just 13 tallies this year, a 19-goal full season pace. Dadonov was exposed by Ottawa in the Expansion Draft, but the Seattle Kraken opted to take affordable third-string goalie Joey Daccord instead. It seems that the team moved forward in their efforts to move on from Dadonov and have found a trade partner in the suddenly-flexible Golden Knights.
Vegas has now used up much of their cap space though, adding Dadonov’s $5MM AAV without any retention from the Senators and only shipping out veteran defenseman Nick Holden, who spent much of last season buried in the AHL at a minimal cap hit. In need of a backup goalie, depth on defense, and a new contract for RFA center Nolan Patrick, the Knights currently have just over $2.5MM in cap space. Nevertheless, Dadonov does address the team’s need for more offense and should shine on the veteran roster.
Ottawa meanwhile lands a solid veteran defenseman in Holden to help develop their young blue line as well as a valuable draft pick. They make good use of a contract that they no longer wanted on the books, especially without having to eat any salary.
Pittsburgh Penguins Re-Sign Evan Rodrigues
The Pittsburgh Penguins will be bringing back Evan Rodrigues, as Darren Dreger of TSN reports. The two sides have agreed to a one-year, $1MM contract, avoiding unrestricted free agency.
Rodrigues, 28, scored seven goals and 14 points in 35 games for the Penguins this season, but apparently, that was enough to bring him back for another year. He’s a skilled forward that is versatile enough to play up and down the lineup, but has never been able to bring much consistency for a full season.
In returning to Pittsburgh, Rodrigues may have a leg up in the competition to fill some of the Penguins’ recently vacated forward spots. However, he will have to compete all the same. The Penguins are looking to make changes to the tone and tenor of their bottom-six play and Rodrigues may not last long in the lineup if he cannot bring more to the table than he did this past season.
Jordan Martinook Re-Signs With The Carolina Hurricanes
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting that versatile forward Jordan Martinook will be staying in Carolina. The deal is reported to be three years at $1.8MM. Per PuckPedia, the deal’s structure is as follows:
2021-22: $900,000
2022-23: $1,800,000
2023-24: $2,700,000
The move comes as somewhat of a surprise after it was believed that the Hurricanes and Martinook would be parting ways. However, with the departure of Warren Foegele, it seems that Carolina has reversed course. Martinook is a considered a glue guy in the locker room and with plenty of turnover already in Raleigh this off-season, it will benefit team morale to keep him around, especially on a mult-year deal.
On the ice, Martinook is likely to make that $1.8MM AAV look like a value as well. The two-way forward recorded 25 points in his first (and only) full season with Carolina and in the past two shortened seasons has scored at a similar rate. Add in his work ethic and defensive ability and you have a reliable bottom-six player making a relatively small amount. As the ‘Canes continue to push for a Cup, they will likely be happy that they kept Martinook in the fold.
Hurricanes Expected To Sign Antti Raanta
It appears it will be a new goaltending tandem in Carolina this season. Already linked to Frederik Andersen, the Hurricanes are also set to sign veteran Antti Raanta, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link). Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that the two-year contract will be worth $2MM per season.
Raanta has spent the past four seasons with Arizona in somewhat of a roller coaster ride. At times, he has played well enough to be a legitimate starting goalie while at others, he has struggled considerably. In between, he has had frequent stints on injured reserve, including last season, where he was only able to play in a dozen games where he posted a 3.36 GAA with a .905 SV%, numbers that were much worse than his career averages.
Still, Raanta’s track record is strong enough to make him a viable buy-low candidate for Carolina. His career .919 SV% is well above-average and if he can come somewhat close to that, he will provide solid value for the Hurricanes. However, with both Raanta and Andersen having some injury trouble last year, it’s also a risk for GM Don Waddell; accordingly, he would be wise to look for a veteran third-stringer with all of their AHL goaltenders being 23 or younger with no NHL experience.
Meanwhile, Arizona may need to add a goalie of their own. Adin Hill was moved to San Jose to avoid losing him in expansion so there is no proven option behind starter Darcy Kuemper. Ivan Prosvetov and Josef Korenar are among the internal options they have but a more proven backup would give them some insurance, especially with Kuemper being limited to just 27 games last season and the fact he’s about to enter the final year of his contract.
Brandon Sutter Expected To Re-Sign In Vancouver
Per TSN’s Bob McKenzie, Vancouver Canucks forward Brandon Sutter is expected to re-sign with the team when free agency opens. McKenzie expects a one-year deal for the veteran forward. The Athletic’s Thomas Drance reports that the deal is worth $1.125MM.
Sutter’s a seasoned veteran, but he’s seriously struggled to stay healthy. The last time Sutter played a full season was 2016-17 where he played in 81 contests. Since that season, Sutter’s topped 10 goals and 20 points just once in a single season. He had a bit of a goal-scoring rebound last season, potting nine markers in 43 games, but tallied only three assists for 12 points. He’s also seen his ice time steadily deteriorate over recent years, now largely serving in a third- or fourth-line role.
A veteran of 770 NHL games, Sutter will return to a Vancouver Canucks forward core that’s been rejuvenated this offseason. With some free agent turnover in depth spots, both Conor Garland and Jason Dickinson will be injected into the Canucks’ offense. And with Dickinson’s acquisition, Sutter will either serve as a right-winger for Dickinson on the third line or as the team’s fourth-line center. Sutter’s health could be a rather key piece for a Canucks roster that’s fighting to get back into the playoff picture.
Stars Nearing Contract With Ryan Suter
It appears that Ryan Suter has found his next team as ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that the Stars are closing in on a multi-year contract with the veteran. TSN’s Darren Dreger clarifies (via Twitter) that it will be a four-year deal with an AAV around the mid-$3MM range; Sportsnet’s Eric Engels pegs the specific price tag (Twitter link) at $3.625MM.
The 36-year-old was bought out of the final four years of his contract by Minnesota earlier this month and will be paid $833K over the next eight years not to play for them. As a result of the buyout, he was free to openly negotiate with teams over the past few days although no agreement could be made official until the opening of the free agent period. And with the structure of his original deal being heavily front-loaded, he will wind up making more money than he would have by sticking with the Wild which isn’t typically the case for players that get bought out.
In his prime, Suter was a legitimate number one defenseman but he has slowed down over the past couple of seasons. His offensive output dipped from 48 points to just 19 last season while his average ice time dropped by nearly two and a half minutes per game to 22:11 per game. Having said that, that type of production and ice time is still worthy of a top-four spot on the back end for many teams. It’s an ideal landing spot for Suter in that sense as Miro Heiskanen is locked into the top-pairing spot on the left side which allows Suter to slot comfortably onto that second pairing alongside one of Esa Lindell or John Klingberg.
Dallas had less than $6MM in cap room heading into the day, per CapFriendly, with Joel Kiviranta needing a new deal as a restricted free agent. Accordingly, unless they can free up some money in a trade, this may be their only big move of the day.
Ethan Bear Traded To Carolina Hurricanes
The Edmonton Oilers are expected to re-sign Tyson Barrie and add another right-handed defenseman in Cody Ceci, so they needed to move out someone else. That player is Ethan Bear, who Darren Dreger of TSN reports is on his way to the Carolina Hurricanes. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that the Hurricanes will send Warren Foegele back to Edmonton.
Bear, 24, looked like he would be a long-term pillar of the blueline for the Oilers in 2019-20, but last season took a significant step backward. He scored just two goals and eight points in 43 games while losing the trust of the coaching staff at times. In Carolina, he won’t be asked to do as much given the strong group ahead of him, but can help replace some of the minutes that they are losing in Dougie Hamilton. Bear actually could perhaps slide into the top-four alongside a player like Brady Skjei, but still likely won’t log anywhere near the minutes of Carolina’s top three options.
For the Oilers, adding another bottom-six winger that can score at a strong rate is a win, at least if considered independent from Bear’s potential upside. There’s real talent in the 25-year-old Foegele, who has 50 points in his last 121 games. Edmonton has struggled to find any consistent offense from the third and fourth line over the last number of years, but are starting to lengthen out their lineup behind Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Even if Zach Hyman ends up playing on one of the top two lines, there appears to be the makings of a legitimate third line finally.
Still, the Oilers will need to sign Foegele as he currently sits as a restricted free agent. He’s coming off a one-year, $2.15MM contract with the Hurricanes, meaning that’s the price of his qualifying offer. That means he’s locked in as a player the Oilers will have to rely on, especially if arbitration results in another raise.
Canucks Expected To Sign Jaroslav Halak And Brad Hunt
The Canucks appear to have found their replacement for Braden Holtby who will officially be bought out later today. ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that Jaroslav Halak is expected to sign a one-year, $1.5MM deal with Vancouver; the contract will also contain $1.5MM in performance bonuses. Meanwhile, CHEK’s Rick Dhaliwal adds (via Twitter) that they will be signing defenseman Brad Hunt.
Halak had spent the past three seasons with Boston but had decided earlier this month that he’d be moving on. The 36-year-old suited up in 19 games with the Bruins last season, posting a 2.52 GAA with a .905 SV% but had been relegated to third-string status with Jeremy Swayman impressing down the stretch. He will be tasked with serving as a veteran mentor for Thatcher Demko but his track record is strong enough to push for playing time should Demko falter as well. The inclusion of bonuses in the deal will give Vancouver a bit more short-term flexibility as they could use the bonus cushion and ultimately defer some of the costs to next season.
As for Hunt, he has been a role player with the Wild for the past three seasons. He had an impressive campaign offensively in 2019-20 with eight goals and 11 assists in 59 games but he was limited to just a dozen appearances with Minnesota last season. The 32-year-old will likely have a similar role as he did with the Wild, serving as a reserve defender that can step in when injuries arise or when the power play needs a boost.