Jets Re-Sign Eric Comrie
The Jets have agreed to terms with one of their pending unrestricted free agents as they announced that they’ve re-signed goaltender Eric Comrie to a one-year contract. The one-way deal will pay him the league minimum of $750K.
The 26-year-old has certainly bounced around over the past two seasons. Between October of 2019 and mid-February of this year, he was claimed off waivers four times and traded once. Despite that, he played all of four NHL games in that stretch. While several teams wanted him, they preferred him solely as an insurance policy over someone that could be a regular backup goaltender.
Two of those waiver claims came this year and between that and the taxi squad, Comrie was limited to just five total appearances – one with New Jersey and four with AHL Manitoba where he posted a 1.23 GAA and a .947 SV%, numbers that were much better than his AHL career averages of 2.82 and .911, respectively.
Comrie has just five career NHL games under his belt but could very well be slotted in as Winnipeg’s backup goaltender behind Connor Hellebuyck next season. Laurent Brossoit is set to test the open market tomorrow while the recent acquisitions of Nate Schmidt and Brenden Dillon have cut into their cap space while they still have several restricted free agents to re-sign headed up by Neal Pionk. One way to save money is to have a cheap backup goalie which could work in Comrie’s favor. Otherwise, Comrie will at least have a one-way deal under his belt before seeing if he’ll bounce around the league again or make it back to the minors with the Moose.
TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report that Comrie had re-signed.
Offseason Checklist: Montreal Canadiens
The offseason is in full flight with free agency almost here. We continue our series which examines what each team needs to accomplish over the coming weeks and months. Next up is a look at Montreal.
The 2020-21 season was a strange one for the Canadiens. They were one of the top teams early on before things started to go off the rails. The end result was head coach Claude Julien, associate coach Kirk Muller, and goalie coach Stephane Waite being let go with Dominique Ducharme taking over on an interim basis. They continued to struggle in the second half but once the playoffs came, they were much better, making it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final despite only winning 24 of 56 games during the regular season. Ducharme had his interim tag quickly removed but GM Marc Bergevin has plenty of other work to do this summer.
Add Scoring Help
Last fall, the Canadiens added Tyler Toffoli in free agency and he responded with the best season of his career with 28 goals in 52 games. They added Josh Anderson in a trade with Columbus and he was second on the team in goals. They signed Cole Caufield late in the season and he gave their attack a boost down the stretch.
And yet, even with those moves, Montreal is still not a particularly strong offensive team. They were hovering near four goals a game early on but by the end of the year, they were in the bottom half of the league and were struggling to score more than two per night late in the season. A lack of reliable scoring also hurt them in the Final against Tampa Bay. They’re about to lose one of their better regular season offensive players in Tomas Tatar to free agency and Shea Weber, one of the bigger offensive threats from the back end, is done for at least the year and his career may very well be over.
Even with a full season of Caufield who is an early Calder Trophy candidate, this is an attack that remains decidedly mediocre. While they hope the return of Jonathan Drouin will help, he only scored twice in 44 games so they can’t count on him to be a difference-maker at this point. While there are other holes to fill, Bergevin will be looking for a top-six piece to deepen his attack.
Replace Weber
This is one of those tasks that sounds simple enough on paper but is going to be quite difficult to accomplish. While Montreal’s captain was undoubtedly starting to decline compared to his level of play in his prime, he was still a key cog on their back end last season. Weber logged nearly 23 minutes per game and was only two seconds behind Jeff Petry for the team lead in ATOI, finished tied for third in power play goals, played more than anyone shorthanded, and was his usual physical presence. Finding a player that can check off all of those boxes is a nearly impossible task for Bergevin; even if he was to sign the top UFA defenseman in Dougie Hamilton, there are elements that Weber provides that he can’t (and vice-versa).
It appears that the Canadiens will instead have to try to fill that void by committee. They’ve been linked to David Savard and Chris Wideman as potential free agent signings and each of them could replace a part of what Weber has given them – Savard can play a physical shutdown role while Wideman is coming off a strong season offensively in the KHL and it appears their hope is that he could help on the offensive side of things.
Is there room for another impact addition? Montreal’s back end wasn’t the most mobile to begin with and bringing Savard or a similar player in for Weber doesn’t really change that. How much can Wideman be relied on considering he has been out of the NHL the last two years? If the Canadiens are opting to replace Weber with a by-committee approach, the committee coming in to replace him is going to need to be a big one. Weber will be eligible for LTIR, giving them up to $7.857MM in space to work with to replace him.
Center Decisions
This one is three-fold. First, Jesperi Kotkaniemi is a restricted free agent this summer and will need a new contract. The third-overall pick in 2018 has shown flashes of top-six upside but has been inconsistent as well to the point where he was a healthy scratch at both the start and the end of their playoff run. While they’re still hoping that he can be a core player for them down the road, he isn’t quite there yet and accordingly, a short-term bridge contract makes sense for both sides.
The second pertains to their other young center in Nick Suzuki. He is eligible to sign a contract extension as of Wednesday and while Kotkaniemi’s development has been spotty, that isn’t the case for Suzuki. He played well during the regular season and stepped up in the playoffs for the second straight year while showing some chemistry with their top prospect in Caufield. If Bergevin believes the best is yet to come from the 21-year-old, working to get a contract extension done now before it gets more expensive would be a wise course of action.
The final element pertains to Phillip Danault. He has been a fixture down the middle for them for the past five seasons and has become one of the stronger defensive forwards in the league along the way. He’s coming off a strong playoff showing in terms of shutting down top opponents (though he only scored once in 22 games) and between that and his age (28), he’s likely to be the most sought-after center on the open market. A long-term extension was rejected last offseason and there have been no contract talks since. Assuming he’s leaving, how will they replace him? Jake Evans and Ryan Poehling are both young pivots but are they ready to step into a bigger role? If not, Bergevin will have to add a veteran center to his shopping list as well.
The Canadiens are coming off an improbable playoff run but as it stands, the roster will look quite a bit different next season. Finding the right mix of returnees and newcomers will be the key task for Bergevin this summer as Montreal moves back into the Atlantic Division.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Jets Acquire Nate Schmidt
While it was believed that Nate Schmidt wasn’t keen on being traded to the Jets, he had a change of heart as on Tuesday, he waived his no-trade clause to be traded to Winnipeg with the Canucks receiving the Jets’ third-round pick in 2022 in return. Both teams have announced the trade.
Schmidt was acquired from Vegas last fall early in free agency with the Golden Knights needing to free up cap space to facilitate the signing of Alex Pietrangelo. The return in that deal was a 2022 third-round selection which means Vancouver was basically able to get a free year out of Schmidt when the two moves are combined.
Unfortunately, that free season wasn’t a great one for the 30-year-old. While he fit in quite well in Vegas, that wasn’t the case in Vancouver as Schmidt struggled for most of the year. His offensive production was cut in half from the previous year from 31 to 15 points despite playing in nearly the same number of games and that was hardly the return they were expecting from someone that carries a $5.95MM cap hit. Those struggles likely played a role in Vancouver swinging a deal for Oliver Ekman-Larsson over the weekend, a move that sealed Schmidt’s fate as being someone that was about to be on the move again.
Meanwhile, Winnipeg makes their second notable defensive addition in as many days after acquiring Brenden Dillon from Washington on Monday. The Jets were hit hard two years ago with several blueliners leaving for no return in Ben Chiarot and Tyler Myers (free agency), the injury and subsequent retirement of Dustin Byfuglien, while Jacob Trouba was traded to the Rangers in a deal that netted Neal Pionk, a move that has worked out well for them thus far. Even so, the only defensive addition of note prior to these two moves was Dylan DeMelo so there was work that needed to be done.
This addition, coupled with Dillon’s pickup, gives Winnipeg much more depth on the back end as the two could possibly form their second pairing behind Pionk and Josh Morrissey for next season while pushing DeMelo down to the third pairing. All of a sudden, a position that was their biggest weakness looks a lot stronger.
With these moves – Winnipeg is picking up the full contract for Schmidt per Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic (Twitter link) – that should be it for additions on their back end. GM Kevin Cheveldayoff will have a little over $7MM in cap room remaining (excluding Bryan Little‘s LTIR-bound contract which carries a $5.291MM AAV) with Pionk, Logan Stanley, and Andrew Copp needing new contracts. They’ll need to dip into that LTIR pool to get those deals done.
Meanwhile, Vancouver has freed up $9.75MM in cap room today with this swap and the Braden Holtby buyout. The Canucks still have Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes among those in need of new contracts but they’ll have roughly $25MM in cap room, giving them enough flexibility to try to make another big splash over the coming days.
TSN’s Darren Dreger was the first to report that Schmidt had agreed to the trade. PuckPedia was the first to report that Winnipeg’s pick, not their other selection from Columbus (previously acquired) was going to Vancouver.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Cap and contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Bruins Agree To Terms With Mike Reilly
The Bruins added Mike Reilly at the trade deadline to try to shore up their back end and evidently, they liked what they saw from him. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the defenseman has agreed to a three-year contract with a $3MM AAV.
The 28-year-old has bounced around in the early going of his career, spending his first few years with Minnesota, Montreal, and Ottawa. However, after having a limited role for most of that time, everything seemed to click for Reilly last season. He picked up 19 assists in 40 games with the Sens which bolstered his trade market and Ottawa was able to flip him to Boston at the deadline for a third-rounder, a two-round upgrade on the pick they sent to the Canadiens to acquire him the year before.
With the Bruins, Reilly was asked to take on a bigger role than he was accustomed to with Boston’s back end being banged up. He responded quite well, picking up eight more assists in 15 games while logging over 21 minutes a night. That continued in the playoffs as he chipped in with four assists in 11 postseason contests while again averaging more than 21 minutes per game.
That had Reilly well-positioned for a strong market in free agency but instead, he’ll stick around with the Bruins, doubling his previous contract in the process. Meanwhile, Boston now has at least one more veteran in place on the left side of their defense corps but it wouldn’t be surprising to see GM Don Sweeney try to add another one over the coming days to help make up for last summer’s departures of Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara.
Buffalo Sabres Re-Sign Drake Caggiula
The Buffalo Sabres aren’t letting Drake Caggiula go that fast. The team has re-signed the depth forward to a one-year, $750K contract, keeping him from the free agent market.
Claimed off waivers from the Arizona Coyotes in early April, Caggiula played just 11 games for the Sabres down the stretch but obviously made an impact on the front office or coaching staff. The energetic winger scored two goals and three points during that 11-game stint, bringing his total to 10 points for the 2020-21 season. That’s certainly not production that will make you leap out of your chair, but for the league minimum, it doesn’t have to be.
Since entering the league as an undrafted free agent in 2016, Caggiula has always had a high work ethic and no fear, routinely throwing his 5’10” frame into the corners against bigger defenders. That kind of scratch-and-claw attitude is exactly what the Sabres need more of at the bottom of their roster, and his speed can be a versatile fit on various lines. It may not feel like it, but Caggiula has already carved out a 260-game NHL career and only just turned 27. Not bad for a player who was passed over several times by every team in the league and spent four years at the University of North Dakota.
Montreal Canadiens Re-Sign Joel Armia
The Montreal Canadiens have made a mark on free agency before it even gets started. Joel Armia has agreed to terms with the club on a new four-year contract extension that will keep him away from the open market. The deal carries an average annual value of $3.4MM and keeps Armia under contract through 2024-25. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet reports that the deal does not include any signing bonuses or trade protection.
Armia, 28, may not create a lot of offense, but he’s still a valuable contributor to the Canadiens that can be used in a variety of ways. One of the best penalty killers in the league, he scored two short-handed goals in Montreal’s 21-game playoff run while lining up against some impressive competition. His 6’4″ frame allows him to get a stick in passing lanes or easily strip players of the puck, all helping Montreal’s identity of a tight defensive group with a penchant for the counter-attack.
The Canadiens, who also have Corey Perry, Phillip Danault, Eric Staal and Tomas Tatar scheduled for unrestricted free agency, were going to need to add some forwards at some point this summer, so why not bring back a player you know and like. The risk involved in a four-year deal is mitigated somewhat by the fact that Armia is still just 28, though he did get a pretty substantial bump in pay. If his defensive ability declines at all, it’s hard to see how Montreal would get their value back from a player that has only hit 30 points once in his career.
Still, the team has cap space to burn, given Shea Weber‘s likely placement on long-term injured reserve for at least this season. Even with Armia back in the fold, Montreal has close to $20MM in room to add in free agency and just a handful of spots left to fill on the roster.
Tampa Bay Lightning Sign Otto Somppi
The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed Otto Somppi to a one-year, two-way contract, avoiding restricted free agency as his entry-level contract was set to expire. The young forward was one of the players who received a qualifying offer from the Lightning yesterday.
Somppi, 23, was originally selected in the seventh round by the Lightning back in 2016, but has been brought along by their development system to the point where he could contribute at the NHL level soon. In 32 games with the Syracuse Crunch last season, the 6’2″ forward scored 12 goals and 26 points. That minor league season came after he played a few games back in Finland, where he added three points for the Lahti Pelicans.
It’s not that Somppi is going to be an NHL star, but if the Lightning can squeeze even a handful of NHL games out of him it will be another win for their scouting and development program. When he was picked in 2016, just six spots from the end of the draft, he had only completed one season in the QMJHL, where he scored 13 goals and 46 points in 59 games. That point total didn’t even improve in his second year with the Halifax Mooseheads, but after a breakout 2017-18 he earned his entry-level deal and turned pro. Time in the ECHL and limited minutes in the AHL were first, but now he’ll return to Syracuse as a key member of their forward group, waiting for his first NHL opportunity.
Minnesota Wild Re-Sign Dakota Mermis
The Minnesota Wild have signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Dakota Mermis to a new two-year, two-way contract, according to Michael Russo of The Athletic. The deal will carry an NHL average annual value of $750K, while giving Mermis a nice minor league guarantee. He’ll earn an AHL salary of $300K in 2021-22 and $325K in 2022-23, but has guarantees of $350K and $375K in the two seasons.
Mermis, 27, played just three games with the Wild this season, spending most of the year on the taxi squad instead. After clearing waivers just as the season started, he was quickly sent to the taxi squad and ended up spending just five days on the NHL roster between January 12 and May 13. Still, a well-liked depth defenseman that can come in and out of the lineup whenever necessary is something that every team in the league needs, and that’s the role he can continue to serve in Minnesota.
Undrafted, Mermis has played in 23 NHL games over the last four seasons and could end up spending more time in Iowa than Minnesota over the next couple of years. In fact, he could be a big part of the leadership group for the AHL franchise, given his history as captain of the Tucson Roadrunners and alternate captain of the Binghamton Devils.
Seattle Kraken Trade Kurtis MacDermid To Colorado
The Seattle Kraken have completed another trade, this time sending defenseman Kurtis MacDermid to the Colorado Avalanche. MacDermid was Seattle’s choice from the Los Angeles Kings, but instead of suiting up for the expansion team, he’ll net them a 2023 fourth-round pick.
MacDermid, 27, represents the second player the Kraken have flipped since the expansion draft, following Tyler Pitlick‘s trade a few days ago. Seattle selected ten defensemen in the draft, so were always expected to trade a few of them before the start of the season. In Colorado, MacDermid joins a contending team that could use a bit of size and depth on the back end after trading away Ryan Graves earlier this offseason.
The 6’5″ defenseman is incredibly physical, but has also shown he can be a bit more than just a face-puncher over the last few years. In 118 career games he has six goals and 17 points, playing limited minutes—fewer than 13 a night—in Los Angeles. He likely won’t be asked to do much more than that in Colorado, where the team already has so many talented young options to eat up minutes. At just $875K though, MacDermid can be a reliable seventh defenseman on the NHL roster, moving in and out of the lineup whenever head coach Jared Bednar feels the need for a little more size.
The cost of a fourth-round pick isn’t much for Colorado to add an NHL player, but to the Kraken it’s another important piece as they look to build the pipeline. The team was unable (or perhaps unwilling) to leverage the expansion situation to collect many draft picks and now must try to sell off whatever pieces they can. Cap space was the biggest focus of GM Ron Francis and company, but it is interesting that now Pitlick and MacDermid, two NHL options that barely crack $2.5MM combined, are the first ones out the door. The Kraken now have an extra fourth-round selection in each of the next two drafts.
Kevin Weekes of NHL Network broke the news on Twitter.
Taro Hirose Re-Signs With Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings have re-signed pending UFA Taro Hirose to a one-year deal, keeping him in the organization. Hirose qualified for Group VI unrestricted free agency after playing in only 42 games for the Red Wings over the last three seasons. PuckPedia reports that the two-way deal is worth $850K at the NHL level, $190K at the AHL level and includes a minor league guarantee of $220K.
Hirose, 25, was an undrafted college free agent signed out of Michigan State University in 2019, and wowed down the stretch in his first professional season. With seven points in his first ten games, it looked like the Red Wings had found a legitimate middle-six option for nothing more than an entry-level contract. As with so many players though, that early success quickly faded, and Hirose recorded just seven points in 26 games the following season. He played just six in a Red Wings uniform during 2020-21.
Still, keeping a player with 16 points in 42 NHL games around for depth purposes isn’t a bad thing, especially when he has been such a big part of the AHL attack. In 29 games for the Grand Rapids Griffins this season, Hirose racked up 28 points. While he may never turn into a full-time NHL option, a one-year deal comes with basically no risk for the Red Wings, who can move him in and out of the lineup whenever necessary.