Jay Varady Returns To Tucson Roadrunners
After spending the 2020-21 season on the Arizona Coyotes bench, Jay Varady will return to the AHL. The organization announced today that Varady has signed a new three-year contract as head coach of the Tucson Roadrunners. Bill Armstrong, GM of the Coyotes, released a short statement:
Jay is an excellent coach who led the Roadrunners to a Pacific Division title. Over the past three years, he has done a tremendous job developing our prospects and we are thrilled to have him back as our head coach in Tucson.
The Coyotes of course have a new head coach in Andre Tourigny, who replaces the outgoing Rick Tocchet who parted ways with the team at the end of the season. Tourigny will be able to bring in his staff but the team will not lose Varady as an asset, moving him back to the AHL to continue working with the team’s prospects.
Now 43, Varady has had plenty of success as a head coach, starting in France where he led the Ducs d’Angers to a 21-2-3 record in 2012-13. He then joined the Sioux City Musketeers, eventually taking the USHL program to the finals. One year in the OHL with the Kingston Frontenacs finished with a third-round berth, while the Roadrunners have a 70-45-11 record under Varady’s watch.
Slowly, it seems, the Coyotes are sorting out their organizational structure under Armstrong. Just yesterday they brought in a new director of pro scouting and have made several other hires over the last few months.
Free Agent Focus: Nashville Predators
Free agency is now just under a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. A Predators legend is a UFA, but there are other, perhaps more important names for the Nashville front office to focus on.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Eeli Tolvanen – After dominating the KHL in 2017-18, many expected Tolvanen to step into the NHL as a superstar. That wasn’t even close to the case as the young sniper failed to even make the team the following season, spending two full years at the minor league level. In 2020-21 though, the Predators started to see a return on their investment, with Tolvanen eventually taking over a spot in the top-six. His development made Viktor Arvidsson expendable and should mean he is in line for even more responsibility next season. Now comes a negotiation and if GM David Poile is known for anything, it’s locking up players he believes are core pieces to long-term deals right away. Ineligible for arbitration, the only real leverage Tolvanen has is the threat of the KHL, meaning he should come back for a reasonable price unless the team starts buying out UFA time on a max-term deal.
D Dante Fabbro – Will Fabbro even be negotiating a contract with the Predators? Nashville will need to go the eight-skater protection route in the expansion draft in order to keep him away from Seattle, unless another deal is worked out in the next few weeks. If they do find a way to keep the 23-year-old defenseman, he’ll need a new contract this summer as an arbitration-eligible RFA. Fabbro is only coming off his entry-level deal, but since he signed as a 21-year-old and played ten games in his first season (including his six playoff games) he has already completed the three professional years that arbitration required.
G Juuse Saros – Don’t forget about Saros, who is also an RFA after taking complete control of the starting role this season. The 26-year-old netminder posted a .927 save percentage and finished sixth in Vezina Trophy voting, truly establishing himself among the league’s elite goaltenders. That kind of performance certainly came in a timely fashion for Saros, who is scheduled for unrestricted free agency next summer and could be in for a huge payday this year. If the Predators want to lock him up long-term, he’ll be getting much more than the $1.5MM he has earned in each of the last three years. If he decides to go to arbitration, a one-year deal would walk him right to the open market.
Other RFAs: F Mathieu Olivier, F Michael McCarron, F Anthony Richard, F Rem Pitlick, F Josh Wilkins, F Tanner Jeannot, F Lukas Craggs, F Cole Smith, D Ben Harpur, D Frederic Allard, D Jeremy Davies, D Josh Healey
Key Unrestricted Free Agents:
F Mikael Granlund – The veteran forward entered the UFA market last offseason as a top name, but ended up settling for just a one-year deal in Nashville after seeing the limited flat-cap market. He still earned a solid paycheck at $3.75MM, but is now another year older and enters free agency with more question marks. Granlund has never seemed to fit perfectly in Nashville, unable to reach the offensive heights that he found in Minnesota, and now has just 62 points in 130 games since arriving in 2019–he scored 47 goals and 136 points over his best two-year period with the Wild. Is his time as a play-driving top-six talent gone? Can he still play center on a full-time basis? It will be tough for a team to offer a long-term deal without knowing the answers to those questions, but it doesn’t really make sense for Nashville to bring him back unless it’s on another reasonable short-term contract.
D Pekka Rinne – 683 regular season games. 19,225 shots faced. 369 wins. 60 shutouts. These are all franchise records that Rinne holds for the Predators after 15 years with the organization, but a tough decision will be coming for Poile and the Nashville front office. Rinne is now 38 and has a .900 save percentage over his past two seasons. He had a losing record this year and isn’t the Vezina-winning goaltender he once was. Some would expect that means it’s the Predators or retirement, but when their season ended Rinne explained that he didn’t “want to close any doors.” Seeing the veteran netminder in any other colors would certainly be shocking, but at some point, the Predators are going to have to move on, whether he’s ready to call it quits or not.
Other UFAs: F Brad Richardson, F Erik Haula, F Sean Malone, F Michael Carcone, D Erik Gudbranson, D Luca Sbisa, D Tyler Lewington
Projected Cap Space
After moving Arvidsson’s contract the Predators have nearly $23MM in cap space to work with this summer, but a lot of that could be eaten up just by their restricted free agents. The expansion draft could provide some additional cap relief depending on who the Kraken decide to take, but it will be tough to really dole out a ton of money on the open market.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Carolina Hurricanes Sign Jack Drury
The Carolina Hurricanes have added another top prospect to the organization, signing Jack Drury to a three-year entry-level contract. The deal will carry an average annual value of 925K. Hurricanes GM Don Waddell released a short statement:
Jack is an outstanding two-way forward who perfectly fits our system and plays the right way. We expect him to be an important piece for the Hurricanes in the very near future.
Drury, 21, was the 42nd overall pick in 2018 and spent two seasons at Harvard, becoming a star for the school in 2019-20 with a 39-point season. This year though, Drury followed an unusual path to the professional ranks. He left Harvard but didn’t sign with Carolina, taking his talents to Sweden to play for Vaxjo HC instead. It guaranteed him a full season of development after the Ivy League school announced they wouldn’t play and the AHL was still in flux.
That decision turned out to be a good one, as Drury scored 30 points in 41 regular season games, 11 more in 14 playoff matches en route to a league championship and finished second in the SHL Rookie of the Year voting. That performance landed him a spot on the U.S. World Championship squad, where he took home a bronze and got his first taste of playing against NHL competition.
Now, he signs his entry-level deal with the potential to step directly into the Carolina lineup next season. The nephew of New York Rangers GM Chris Drury, he isn’t quite the same player as his uncle but still has a commitment to the defensive end that is sometimes difficult to find from such talented offensive players. His ceiling may not be quite as high as some of the other young players already on the Hurricanes roster, but he should quickly become a valuable piece to plug into a lineup that continues to improve.
Minor Transactions: 07/07/21
The Montreal Canadiens lived to fight another day, but they’ll need that same level of desperation to win game five and continue the series tonight. While all eyes are on Tampa to see what happens, the rest of the hockey world prepares for next season. As always, we’ll keep track of any notable minor moves right here.
- Phil Varone has signed a one-year contract with Lausanne HC in Switzerland, continuing his overseas career after playing with Barys Nur-Sultan of the KHL last season. The 30-year-old forward suited up 97 times in the NHL and won the AHL MVP in 2018. In 42 games last season, he scored 25 points.
- Martin Gernat, once a fifth-round pick of the Edmonton Oilers, will also be heading to Lausanne, after spending the last few seasons in the Czech Republic. The 28-year-old defenseman hasn’t played in North America since the 2015-16 season, but did impress for Slovakia at this year’s World Championship.
- Michael Krutil will sign another AHL contract with the Rockford IceHogs after spending the 2020-21 season with them. The 19-year-old defenseman was a fourth-round pick last fall, but ended up going straight to the AHL where he recorded three points in 21 games. He has still not signed his entry-level contract but there is no rush, as the Blackhawks will hold his rights until 2024.
- The AHL’s Iowa Wild have lost a pair of players to Europe. Forwards Tyler Sheehy and Jarrett Burton are each leaving North America behind for the first time in their careers after combining for just 14 AHL points this season. Sheehy, 25, has signed with the Nurnberg Ice Tigers of Germany’s DEL on a one-year deal with an option for second year. Burton, 30, will join Norway’s Stavanger Oilers on a one-year deal.
- Cole Schneider will spend another season without an NHL contract despite strong returns in the minors. The former Buffalo Sabre, who has also spent time under contract with the Ottawa Senators and New York Rangers, was impressive again this season in the AHL, recording 28 points in 36 games with the Texas Stars and earning the club’s captaincy. It was Schneider’s second consecutive season on an AHL deal even after recording 46 points in 54 games with the Milwaukee Admirals in 2019-20. Schneider will not wait for the NHL market to open later this month and has instead opted to return to Milwaukee, as the team announced a one-year-deal for the 30-year-old forward.
Free Agent Focus: Minnesota Wild
Free agency is now just under a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. Minnesota has been busy in recent days with some re-signings but still has two impact RFAs and several veteran UFAs in need of new contracts.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Kirill Kaprizov – Technically speaking, Kaprizov doesn’t even qualify for restricted free agency as he doesn’t have enough service time to qualify to be tendered an offer sheet but he needs a new deal nevertheless. Minnesota is believed to have already made a long-term offer to the 24-year-old but such a contract doesn’t appear to be to Kaprizov’s liking. Something shorter-term that sets him up for a new deal in a more favorable cap environment while being in the prime of his career would be preferable on his part though not for the Wild. With Kaprizov not having arbitration rights either, his leverage is limited to stalling in the hopes of getting a better offer from Minnesota so this is a deal that could be slow-played longer into the summer. Regardless of how long it takes, he will make substantially more than the $925K base salary (which includes the signing bonus) he made on his entry-level deal this season.
F Kevin Fiala – Despite the last two seasons being shortened by the pandemic, the winger has reached the 20-goal mark each time for only the second and third time of his career. Fiala has settled in nicely with the Wild after being acquired back at the 2019 trade deadline in exchange for Mikael Granlund. The 24-year-old has arbitration eligibility for the first time and is two years away from reaching unrestricted free agency. If a long-term deal is worked out that buys out some of those UFA-eligible years, Fiala may have a shot at doubling the $3MM AAV he had on his bridge contract. Worth noting, his qualifying offer stands a little higher than that at $3.5MM.
Other RFAs: F Will Bitten, F Brandon Duhaime, F Mason Shaw
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Nick Bonino – Statistically speaking, Bonino had a similar season on a points per game basis compared to his time with Nashville (who traded him to Minnesota last fall). At this stage of his career, he’s best served as a third-line center and as someone who is routinely above average at the faceoff dot, he should have considerable interest on the open market. However, spending on the bottom six dried up last summer and with the cap staying flat, that’s likely to continue this summer. Accordingly, it would be surprising to see the 33-year-old match the $4.1MM AAV he got from the Predators in his last trip to free agency back in 2017.
F Marcus Johansson – Last season didn’t go well for Johansson as he managed just six goals and eight assists in 36 games. However, he had two straight 30-point seasons before that and going back to his time in Washington, he had five seasons of 44 or more points. There’s a track record of offensive success in the right environment. He was patient two years ago and landed a two-year, $9MM contract from Buffalo but he won’t have a shot at that this time around. However, he’s an intriguing middle-six option out there, especially if he’s open to a one-year contract to try to boost his value and show he has something left in the tank.
D Ian Cole – The veteran was acquired early in the season to stabilize their third pairing and he did just that, logging nearly 16 minutes a night over 52 games while providing plenty of physicality. Cole should have a decent-sized market this summer but it will be in that limited capacity, not as a top-four player which is how he was able to sell himself three years ago in free agency when he managed to land a $4.25MM price tag. Half of that may be the ceiling this time around.
Other UFAs: D Matt Bartkowski, D Louis Belpedio, F Joseph Cramarossa, F Gabriel Dumont, G Andrew Hammond, D Brad Hunt, F Luke Johnson, D Ian McCoshen, D Dakota Mermis, F Kyle Rau
Projected Cap Space
Minnesota finds themselves with just under $16MM in cap space which may sound like a lot at first but a significant chunk of that will need to be allocated to Kaprizov and Fiala. By the time they fill out their roster with some depth players, that will basically be it for summer spending. As a result, if GM Bill Guerin wants to add a significant piece to his roster, that will likely have to come via the trade route. If that doesn’t happen, it could be a relatively quiet summer for the Wild.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Offseason Checklist: Toronto Maple Leafs
The offseason is in full flight with only two teams still standing. We continue our series which examines what those eliminated teams need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Toronto.
Things didn’t quite go according to plan for the Maple Leafs this season. Yes, they won the North Division as expected but it didn’t result in much playoff success. Instead, they were ousted in the opening round once again, this time by Montreal. GM Kyle Dubas indicated after the season that he doesn’t intend to move any of his four highly-paid forwards so they will be looking to make smaller moves to try to upgrade this summer. Here is what they should be working on this offseason.
Add A New Assistant Coach
Seattle’s decision to hire Dave Hakstol as their first head coach caught many by surprise but it also created a vacancy on Toronto’s bench that will need to be filled. With head coach Sheldon Keefe still relatively inexperienced at the NHL level and Manny Malhotra not having any head coaching experience, bringing in a replacement who has been an NHL head coach would be a nice addition to the bench although Paul MacLean is also on the staff and could be elevated to a larger role. Bruce Boudreau was speculated as a possible addition last offseason and could make sense this summer as well.
Re-Sign Or Replace Hyman
Zach Hyman has worked his way up Toronto’s depth chart from a depth piece at the start to a key member of their top six and had a strong season offensively with 15 goals and 18 assists in 43 games. Of course, offense is only a piece of what he brings to the table as he’s an effective checker and a strong complementary piece on the top line. This has him well-positioned to land a significant contract in free agency later this month, even with a flat salary cap in a free agent environment that wasn’t kind to most wingers back in the fall.
But is that a contract they will be able to afford? They have over $70MM in commitments for next season already to 16 players and another high-priced deal would force them into even more low-cost depth pickups to stay cap compliant while filling out the roster. On the other hand, can they afford to lose him? Yes, he’s a complementary player on their number one line but he has logged more than 19 minutes a game the last two years while leading the way in penalty kill ice time among forwards as well. If he goes elsewhere, it’d be a big loss.
But if he winds up outpricing himself from what Toronto can realistically afford, Hyman’s departure would allow them to shop in the free agent market for a replacement. They’ve been linked to Nashville’s Mikael Granlund before and someone in his projected price range is what the Maple Leafs can more realistically afford while filling out the rest of their roster. Their preference would undoubtedly be to keep Hyman but if that doesn’t happen (and at this point, it sure sounds like the asking price is too high for their liking), the ability to dangle a spot alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner could make them a team to watch for in free agency.
Rielly Extension Talks
Morgan Rielly has been a fixture on Toronto’s back end for the last eight years, often being their number one option over the last several seasons. His current contract – one that carries an AAV of $5MM – has turned into quite a bargain along the way. However, that deal is up a year from now which means that the 27-year-old is eligible to sign a contract extension as soon as the calendar flips to the 2021-22 league year on July 28th.
It’s safe to say that he will be landing a sizable raise and could push past the $7MM mark as long as he has a strong final year on his contract. If he gets to the open market, he’ll be one of the more sought-after players in the 2022 free agent class. And with over $57MM in commitments to just nine players for 2022-23 (which doesn’t factor in a new deal for Hyman or a replacement), there will come a time where they won’t be able to keep all of their core players.
But James Mirtle of The Athletic recently reported (subscription link) that Rielly is willing to take a discount to remain with the Maple Leafs. If that’s the case, Dubas would be wise to try to get a new deal for Rielly done this summer, giving them some extra certainty in terms of what their cap picture looks like for 2022 and beyond. If the framework of an extension was in place before free agency started, it’d give them some better clarity on what they can afford long-term on a Hyman re-signing or replacement as well as one other need that will have to be filled.
Platoon Partner For Campbell
That need is finding a second goaltender to team up with Jack Campbell next season. Frederik Andersen is set to become an unrestricted free agent and while he has expressed an interest in returning, he’d also like to have chance at being a starter again. That probably won’t come with Toronto with the way that Campbell played down the stretch and in the playoffs.
Campbell may not be the undisputed starter but he could very well be on the stronger side of the platoon which would be a good situation for him as he heads into the final year of his contract before being eligible for unrestricted free agency for the first time.
The good news for the Maple Leafs is that there are several goalies who fit as possible platoon partners. The bad news is that those netminders still carry a notable price tag with deals for them in recent years hovering in the $3MM range. They have the room to afford that for next season but it will undoubtedly cut into what they can afford in Hyman’s slot.
If there’s an opportunity to do what they did when they acquired Campbell and bring in a lower-cost netminder with team control beyond next season, that may very well be the more desirable route even though it would cost them an asset or two versus free agency where it’s just money. That would give them more flexibility on the cap and some certainty with Campbell’s deal being up next summer barring an extension over the summer.
Either way, through trade or a free agent signing, Toronto will need to add another goaltender over the next few weeks.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Snapshots: Menell, Keith, Eklund, Finkelstein
While Minnesota has been active in re-signing players in recent days with new deals for centers Joel Eriksson Ek and Nick Bjugstad, they also are in discussions on a new contract for defenseman Brennan Menell, reports Michael Russo of The Athletic (subscription link). Talks have picked up in recent weeks with a formal offer on the horizon. The 24-year-old is believed to be seeking a one-way contract to return from the KHL and put up the numbers to justify such an offer as he was second in the league in points by a blueliner this season, notching 38 points in 47 games.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- As part of his efforts to be traded to a place closer to his son, Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith has changed agents and is now represented by Gerry Johannson of The Sports Corporation, notes Postmedia’s Jim Matheson. He had previously been repped by RWG’s Ross Gurney. Johannson happens to be based out of Edmonton which Matheson believes could help the veteran eventually wind up with the Oilers although due to expansion, such a move wouldn’t come until after Seattle picks their team.
- Draft prospect William Eklund intends on remaining in Sweden next season before coming to the NHL, relays Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News (Twitter link). The 18-year-old is a consensus top-ten pick and accordingly, his entry-level contract would supersede the final year on his deal with Djurgarden but instead, he’ll stay with them and try to build on a 23-point season, impressive numbers for someone that can still be in their junior system for two more years.
- The Maple Leafs have added some defensive depth as their farm team announced the signing of blueliner Ben Finkelstein to a one-year, minor-league deal. The 23-year-old was a seventh-round pick of Florida back in 2016 but didn’t sign in 2020 after wrapping up his college career. Finkelstein spent this season with Greenville of the ECHL, averaging nearly a point per game with 11 goals and 21 assists in 35 games.
Los Angeles Kings Sign Christian Wolanin
The Los Angeles Kings have retained a depth defenseman, signing Christian Wolanin to a one-year contract. The two-way deal carries an NHL salary of $750K. Wolanin was scheduled to become a Group VI unrestricted free agent this summer.
As we examined recently in our Kings Free Agent Focus piece, Wolanin was basically the only pending UFA that really carried any weight for Los Angeles. His return will give the team another depth option, but certainly doesn’t guarantee him much playing time. The 26-year-old suited up for 18 games this season, but only three of them came with the Kings after a trade from the Ottawa Senators. Since signing his entry-level contract in 2018, he has played in 61 NHL games, recording 18 points.
One thing that may have swayed things in favor of an extension? Wolanin’s strong performance at this year’s World Championship, where he posted six points for Team USA and took home a bronze medal. A league-minimum two-way contract is never a bad idea for a player that has shown an ability to play at the NHL level, and in this case it very well could be a bargain for the Kings.
Wolanin will be left exposed to Seattle, but doesn’t really seem like a prime target given the other players that could be available in Los Angeles.
Expansion Primer: Colorado Avalanche
Over the next few weeks, we will be breaking down each team’s situation as it pertains to the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. Which players are eligible, who will likely warrant protection, and which ones may be on the block to avoid the risk of losing them for nothing? Each team is required to submit their protection lists by 4:00 PM CDT on July 17th. The full eligibility rules can be found here, while CapFriendly has an expansion tool to make your own lists.
The last time the expansion process rolled around, the Avalanche were in great shape. They ended up losing depth goaltender Calvin Pickard, who never even played a game in the Vegas organization. He cleared waivers and then was traded for a sixth-round pick and Tobias Lindberg the following October, meaning Colorado certainly didn’t part with much of an asset. This time around the Avalanche are a much deeper roster and things may not be so painless.
Eligible Players (Non-UFA)
Forwards:
Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Andre Burakovsky, Nazem Kadri, Joonas Donskoi, J.T. Compher, Valeri Nichushkin, Tyson Jost, Kiefer Sherwood, Travis Barron, Logan O’Connor, Ty Lewis, Jayson Megna, Vladislav Kamenev
Defense:
Erik Johnson (NMC), Samuel Girard, Devon Toews, Ryan Graves, Dennis Gilbert, Cale Makar, Jacob MacDonald
Goalies:
Notable Unrestricted Free Agents
F Gabriel Landeskog, F Brandon Saad, D Patrik Nemeth, G Philipp Grubauer, G Devan Dubnyk
Notable Exemptions
F Shane Bowers, F Sampo Ranta, F Alex Newhook, F Martin Kaut, D Conor Timmins, D Bowen Byram, G Pavel Francouz
Key Decisions
Just reading through the list of eligible players you can start to see a problem for the Avalanche, and a potential reason why Landeskog remains unsigned. It’s not clear whether the team has a deal “in the drawer” for their captain (reports indicate that isn’t the case, though things can change at any moment), but it certainly would help the situation if he signs after the draft instead of before it. Remember, that strategy technically gives the Kraken a chance to speak with Landeskog ahead of the draft, meaning they could offer him a huge contract to try and pry him away from the only team he’s ever known.
Even if he and Saad are not signed before the draft though, it still leaves Colorado GM Joe Sakic with a tough decision. Do you protect seven forwards and three defensemen, potentially risking a young player from the blueline, or eight skaters in order to make sure that defense corps stays intact? The decision will be almost entirely based on whether Johnson agrees to waive his no-movement clause, which would normally force the Avalanche into protecting him. The veteran defenseman is an unlikely target for Seattle because of his age, contract, and recent injury issues, meaning waiving it would only serve to help the franchise he currently plays for.
Assuming he does waive it and the team goes the seven forwards-three defenseman route, there are still plenty of decisions to be made. Rantanen, MacKinnon, Burakovsky, and Nichushkin are easy choices to protect at forward, but that leaves the group of Kadri, Donskoi, Compher, Jost, and O’Connor to fill just three spots.
It might have been easy to pencil Kadri into that must-protect list a few months ago, but after getting another playoff suspension, there will have to be at least some discussion over whether he should be a core piece moving forward. Three times now in his career he hasn’t been available when his team needed him most, and the 30-year-old center has just one year left on his contract.
Donskoi and Compher are both valuable players, but given their cap hits ($3.9MM and $3.5MM respectively) it wouldn’t be the end of the world to lose one of them, with so many free agents to sign this offseason. One of those free agents is Jost, who is an arbitration-eligible RFA. He too has settled into a role with the Avalanche and is still just 23, but hasn’t experienced the offensive breakout that was expected when the team selected him 10th overall in 2016.
That leaves O’Connor, who some may overlook simply because of his undrafted status and lack of NHL experience, but there were real moments of upside from him this season as a bottom-six piece. The fact that he will carry a cap hit next season that is less than league minimum ($725K) makes him a valuable option for an Avalanche team that will be skirting the salary cap ceiling all year long.
Of course, even if Johnson does waive his clause, it doesn’t mean things come easy on defense. The simple answer is to protect Makar, Girard and Toews, who each logged more than 23 minutes a night this season and are all core pieces of the roster. But that would mean exposing Graves, who arguably outplayed Toews and Girard in the playoffs and carries the lowest cap hit of the three. The 26-year-old Graves looks like he is still improving and could very well be part of the Kraken top-four if left exposed.
In net, there isn’t even anyone that really deserves protecting, unless Grubauer re-signs before the draft. That means the Avalanche could actually make a trade for a new starting goaltender before the draft if they believe their incumbent Vezina finalist will be too expensive to bring back.
Projected Protection List
F Mikko Rantanen
F Nathan MacKinnon
F Andre Burakovsky
F Nazem Kadri
F Joonas Donskoi
F Valeri Nichushkin
F Tyson Jost
D Samuel Girard
D Devon Toews
D Cale Makar
*Assuming Landeskog does not re-sign before the draft and Johnson waives his NMC
Skater Exposure Requirement Checklist
When Vegas had their expansion draft, a minimum of two forwards and one defenseman had to be exposed that were under contract and played either 40 games in the most recent season or 70 over the past two combined. Due to the pandemic, those thresholds have been changed to 27 games played in 2020-21 or 54 in 2019/20 and 2020-21 combined. In creating our expansion list for each team in this series, we will ensure that these criteria are met.
Forwards (1): J.T. Compher
Defensemen (3): Erik Johnson, Ryan Graves, Jacob MacDonald
Of course, in this situation the Avalanche still have some work to do. They need to leave two forwards exposed that meet the requirements, and by protecting both Donskoi and Kadri it leaves just one. A new contract for Landeskog, or Saad would change this, but they could also just extend Bellemare or even Calvert if he is healthy enough to return to action. On the back end, Johnson waiving his NMC would do the trick, but even without him they have enough options to fill the single required spot.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Winnipeg Jets Agree To Terms With Dominic Toninato
The Winnipeg Jets have agreed to terms with Dominic Toninato on a two-year contract. The deal will be a two-way contract in 2021-22, a one-way contract in 2022-23 and carries an average annual value of $750K at the NHL level.
Toninato, 27, was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer after playing just a handful of games for the Jets. In fact, because he was used as an emergency recall and placed on the taxi squad so often this year, he ended up playing just five regular season games at the NHL and AHL levels combined. He did get into three postseason games, even scoring a goal against the Edmonton Oilers in the first round, but it was still a far cry from the 46 games Toninato suited up for in 2019-20.
Of course, bouncing on and off the NHL roster is nothing new for Toninato, who has just 87 games played since he signed with the Colorado Avalanche in 2017. Originally drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2012, the 6’2″ forward spent a year in the USHL and then went to the University of Minnesota-Duluth for four seasons, even winning the NCHC Best Defensive Forward award in 2016-17.
That defensive presence will always be his ticket to the NHL, given the limited offensive upside Toninato brings. In those 87 career NHL games, he has just five goals and 15 points, though he has averaged less than 10 minutes of ice time through those matches.
This contract provides some stability for him, as well as the chance to earn a guaranteed NHL salary in 2022-23. That’s something new for Toninato, who has been on two-way deals to this point in his career.
For the Jets, his signing provides them with another player that can fill the expansion requirements at forward. Though he didn’t play much this season, the games from last year also count towards the threshold, meaning he was always likely to be extended in some fashion in order to help maximize Winnipeg’s flexibility.