East Notes: Jacobs, Flyers, Clutterbuck
The Boston Bruins have new ownership. Jeremy Jacobs, owner of the team since 1975, has transferred the ownership to his six children according to Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe. The franchise will obviously stay in the family, but will no longer be in the hands of the 80-year old owner who is known as one of the most powerful in the league.
Jacobs, 80, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2017 and as of now still serves as chairman of the NHL board of governors. He holds immense power among the other owners around the league, though it is not clear if this transition will affect that at all.
- The Philadelphia Flyers have added more names to their front office as Chuck Fletcher continues to put his stamp on the organization. Martin Gendron has been hired as an amateur scout, coming from the Minnesota Wild where Fletcher had originally hired him. Angelo Ricci has been hired as a skills coach, and Vincent Yula is in as assistant video coach. Yula had already been assisting, though will now be part of the staff in an official capacity.
- Cal Clutterbuck underwent surgery to fix multiple back injuries earlier this year, but is feeling much better as he prepares for the season. The New York Islanders forward told Andrew Gross of Newsday that he has “no issues” with his back anymore and that he felt better immediately after surgery. Even while battling through injury last season Clutterbuck played in 73 games and recorded 23 points, but if the 31-year old is at all improved the Islanders could have an even more dangerous bottom-six.
Snapshots: Marleau, Morrissey, Flyers
When Patrick Marleau accepted a trade from the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Carolina Hurricanes earlier this offseason, the writing was on the wall. Marleau would be bought out by the Hurricanes and would be free to return to the San Jose Sharks to finish his career where he was a franchise icon. Not so fast, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports that Marleau’s agent Pat Brisson says there is no fit with the Sharks at this time and that his client will pursue other NHL opportunities.
Where exactly those opportunities may lie isn’t clear. The prevailing thought is that Marleau would rather spend his remaining time in the NHL near the west coast to be closer to his family that has moved back to San Jose, but there isn’t a clear fit with any of the California teams. The Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks are trying to get younger, not bring in a soon-to-be 40-year old winger who just experienced his worst offensive season since 1997-98. The Edmonton Oilers were recently suggested as a potential landing spot, though it is not clear at this point. As Kevin Kurz of The Athletic points out, Marleau continues to suit up with the Sharks during informal skates in his old Maple Leafs’ gear.
- With the Winnipeg Jets still focused on their two unsigned star forwards, it’s easy to forget that next summer they will have another tough negotiation. Josh Morrissey, who has developed into a legitimate first-pairing option for the Jets over the last few years is entering the final season of a two-year deal signed last September and will be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent next summer. Ken Wiebe of The Athletic caught up with Morrissey today to ask him about any potential negotiations and the young defenseman explained that there has been preliminary talks about a potential long-term extension. Morrissey told Wiebe, “I would love to play [in Winnipeg] throughout my career” but that he’s focused on the upcoming season. The 24-year old had 31 points in 59 games for the Jets last season.
- The Philadelphia Flyers have made a few changes to their front office, promoting Ian Anderson to Director of Hockey Analytics and Jacob Hurlbut to Lead Developer in the department. The team has also hired Tom Minton as Director of Hockey Information/Video and Matthew Karliner as an Analyst. GM Chuck Fletcher has obviously chosen to invest in the team’s analytic department moving forward, hoping to find any edge possible.
Snapshots: Gardiner, Allen, Hart
Jake Gardiner came into the offseason as our top unrestricted free agent defenseman and sixth-highest ranked player overall. We predicted a five-year contract worth $32MM for the talented puck-mover, but as the calendar gets ready to turn to September he remains unsigned. There’s been very little indication from Gardiner or his representatives to why that is, but many have speculated that he may be waiting for an opportunity to present itself in Toronto where he could return to the Maple Leafs. With Mitch Marner still unsigned and the Maple Leafs right up against the cap that seems unlikely, so Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet gave his thoughts on the situation:
Jake Gardiner loves Toronto, and I know the organization really likes him. They like him a lot. The thing that I wonder about for Gardiner is, if he is looking to increase his value is he going to do it in Toronto? He’s not going to get as much powerplay time, they’re going to have [Morgan] Rielly and [Tyson] Barrie. He’s probably going to be a third-pairing defenseman. If he’s staying in Toronto, it’s because he really wants to be there.
I’ve heard Arizona. I’ve heard both Montreal and Winnipeg. I’ve heard Buffalo if they move maybe [Rasmus] Ristolainen out. Somebody said they heard rumors of potentially Carolina depending on what the Hurricanes might still do. I think there is interest in him, I think he’s being picky.
Despite the fact that Gardiner has been known to turn the puck over at the most inopportune times for Toronto, he is still a quality player that many teams around the league could use. The 29-year old has averaged more than 20 minutes a night in every single year of his career and just posted his sixth 30+ point season. His possession numbers are excellent even when compared to his talented teammates, and he’s shown the ability to contribute even more offensively when given the chance. No, Gardiner certainly isn’t a perfect player, but it’s extremely surprising to see him last this long into the offseason without a contact.
- The Washington Capitals have hired Scott Allen as an assistant coach for their AHL affiliate, adding some more experience to the Hershey Bears bench. Allen has serves as an NHL assistant for the last three years, most recently with the Arizona Coyotes. The former minor league forward actually started his coaching career with the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL more than two decades ago.
- The Philadelphia Flyers may have an franchise-changing netminder on their hands in Carter Hart, but the team isn’t going to just hand him the starting job this season. As Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes, Hart will have to compete with Brian Elliott for that job in training camp and earn his spot at the top of the depth chart. While it seems unlikely that Elliott could really take the full-time starter role, it does suggest that perhaps he won’t be left completely out in the cold. If a healthy Elliott can regain any of the form that he had in St. Louis a few years ago the Flyers could have one of the best tandems in the league on their hands. The 21-year old Hart already showed how capable he was at this level with a .917 save percentage in 31 games as a rookie.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Philadelphia Flyers
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2019-20 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Philadelphia Flyers
Current Cap Hit: $68,082,579 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
G Carter Hart (two years, $731K)
F Oskar Lindblom (one year, $925K)
D Philippe Myers (one year, $679K)
F Nolan Patrick (one year, $925K)
Potential Bonuses:
Hart: $132.5K
Lindblom: $212.5K
Patrick: $2.65MM
Patrick was considered the top prospect of the 2017 draft class for most of that season before ultimately going second overall. His sophomore year largely mirrored his rookie campaign which was okay but not quite up to the expectations of someone going that high. He’s likely going to spend a lot of time on the third line again in 2019-20 which makes him a good candidate for a short-term second contract instead of the long-term pact many top picks get. Lindblom quietly put up 17 goals last season despite not averaging 14 minutes per night with most of those coming at even strength. If he can get to the 20-goal mark, he could jump into the $2.5MM or more range on a short-term pact next summer.
Myers has been a nice find as an undrafted free agent and got his first NHL action last season. He has the skill set to be a regular which is why he’s mentioned here but it’s also possible that his waiver exemption will work against him and he’ll find himself in Lehigh Valley again. On the surface, a bridge deal is probably on the horizon for him.
Hart could be the legitimate starting goaltender that the Flyers have been coveting for a long time. He didn’t look out of place in his first NHL action last season and the starting job is his to run with. If he plays 50 or more games in each of the next two years, he could increase his salary tenfold with a long-term deal. There is a lot of pressure on his shoulders already.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
D Justin Braun ($3.8MM, UFA)
G Brian Elliott ($2MM, UFA)
D Robert Hagg ($1.15MM, RFA)
Braun was brought in to help stabilize the back end and eat some minutes which is something he should be able to do. While he hasn’t been a big point producer over the years, he has logged at least 20 minutes a night in six straight seasons. That will garner some interest on the open market but because of the limited offensive upside and age (32), his next contract shouldn’t cost much more than this one. Hagg was a regular last season, providing plenty of physicality from the third pairing. However, with their moves this summer, he’s someone that probably won’t be seeing his role increase much. He’s already on his bridge deal but it’d be tough to see either side want to commit to a long-term pact next summer if this winds up happening.
Elliott isn’t the number one netminder anymore but he’s a good fit for the veteran mentor role that can take a bigger workload if needed. For him, simply staying healthy is the biggest challenge. That will ultimately determine if he can get a multi-year deal and a raise as a 35-plus player next summer or if he’ll be going year-to-year from here on out.
Two Years Remaining
F Scott Laughton ($2.3MM, UFA)
D Samuel Morin ($700K, RFA)
D Matt Niskanen ($5.75MM, UFA)
F Michael Raffl ($1.6MM, UFA)
D Travis Sanheim ($3.25MM, RFA)
Laughton made the most of his extra ice time last season to reach a new career-high in points (32). However, there may not be a lot of offensive progression left (especially with their depth down the middle) which will limit his earning upside. Third line pivots that can win draws at an above-average rate like he does will still be coveted two years from now but a big raise probably isn’t in his future. Instead, he’ll probably have to settle for a small increase. Raffl wasn’t able to get even that as he took more than a 30% pay cut to stay with the Flyers. He’s pegged to be a depth winger once again which means he’s probably looking at another cut two years from now.
Sanheim’s first full NHL season was a strong one as he established himself as a core piece for the long-term. However, GM Chuck Fletcher opted to go for a bridge contract back in June, presumably to free up some funds for their other acquisitions as well as the players that still need new deals. It will cost a lot more to sign him two summers from now though, especially with arbitration rights. Niskanen’s acquisition was a little puzzling given that his offensive output has dipped in recent years which makes his deal a bit expensive. (And they retained salary on the player going the other way.) However, the Flyers believe he can rebound and, like Braun, log some heavy minutes. That said, his next deal won’t come close to this one. Morin missed most of last season with a knee injury, one that the team knew about when they gave him this contract. However, the 24-year-old gets to benefit from some extra security, albeit at a league-minimum rate. He’ll push to hold down a full-time spot on the roster and is waiver-eligible; how he fares in accomplishing that role will go a long way towards determining his next contract.
Three Years Remaining
F Sean Couturier ($4.33MM, UFA)
F Claude Giroux ($8.275MM, UFA)
Two years ago, Giroux was struggling and his deal looked like a big overpayment. However, a simple position change to the wing proved to be the remedy as he put up 102 points in 2017-18 and followed that up with 85 last season. That’s a pretty good return on their biggest contract and if he can maintain that level of production, he could still have one sizable payday left. Couturier has also gone from an underachiever two years ago to a top-line center that’s making what some third line pivots make. He could be looking at doubling his current AAV three years from now as things stand.
Four Or More Years Remaining
D Shayne Gostisbehere ($4.5MM through 2023-24)
F Kevin Hayes ($7.143MM through 2025-26)
F James van Riemsdyk ($7MM through 2023-24)
F Jakub Voracek ($8.25MM through 2024-25)
While Voracek has had one big season, it’s safe to say that Philadelphia hasn’t got quite the bang for their buck when they signed him back in 2015. Since then, he has surpassed the 70-point mark only once and has averaged 61 points per season in the other three years. That’s not a terrible output by any stretch but for someone that was made one of the higher-paid wingers in the league at the time, it’s fair to say he has underachieved a little bit. With five years left and a deal that is a little bit buyout-prohibitive given the signing bonus structure, this is one that could sting in a few years.
Hayes is coming off a career year offensively but it was also the first time that he had at least 50 points in a season which makes this deal carry some risk. He’s a good fit between Couturier on the top line and Patrick on the third for now but when Patrick eventually moves up, he’ll either become an expensive winger or a high-priced bottom six option. The acquisition will certainly help them a lot in the near future but there should be concerns about the long-term with this one as well. Van Riemsdyk’s deal was considered to be a bit of an overpay last summer but at the same time, it came with less term than many expected so the trade-off is reasonable. Injuries prevented him from getting back to the 30-goal mark, a target he’ll need to reach for this one to not be considered a bad contract as well.
Gostisbehere is coming off a tough year offensively, relatively speaking. 37 points is still pretty good but it’s well off the 65 he had the year before. As a result, he has been in trade speculation this offseason but they’d be selling low if they moved him now. His deal is also still one of the better bargains on the roster as a top-four defender that’s capable of putting up points would cost a lot more on the open market.
Buyouts
G Ilya Bryzgalov ($1.643MM through 2026-27, cap-exempt as a post-CBA compliance buyout)
D Andrew MacDonald ($1.167MM in 2019-20, $1.917MM in 2020-21)
D David Schlemko ($900K in 2019-20, $600K in 2020-21)
Retained Salary Transactions
D Radko Gudas ($1.005MM in 2019-20)
Still To Sign
F Travis Konecny
D Ivan Provorov
Konecny didn’t have a big jump in production last season but hit 24 goals for the second straight year which certainly helps his case. Recent speculation has his price tag in the $4MM range but that would likely be for a shorter-term pact.
As for Provorov, his 2018-19 campaign was one to forget. While he logged over 25 minutes a night, his effectiveness dropped as did his output. As a result, instead of being a lock for a long-term contract, a bridge deal is looking like the likeliest outcome with something in the $5MM range being floated as a potential price point.
Best Value: Couturier
Worst Value: Hayes
Looking Ahead
While the Flyers have lots of cap space now, that will change once Konecny and Provorov sign although they should still have some wiggle room for in-season moves. That’s not likely to be the case for long though. Their young core players are all on shorter-term deals (or soon will be) and while that gives them flexibility now, it will hurt them later. That will be happening at the time where some of the players on long-term contracts will likely start to decline as well. Rough times will be on the horizon but that’s just par for the course for a team that not that long ago was basically right against the Upper Limit on a seemingly annual basis.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Free Agent Profile: Scott Darling
Veteran goaltender Cam Ward called it a career today, signing a one-day contract with the Carolina Hurricanes, who he served for 13 seasons to begin his NHL career. The 35-year-old finally moved on from the Hurricanes last season, but struggled in a backup role with the Chicago Blackhawks. With his numbers slipping and age catching up with him, Ward decided now was the time to retire.
Interestingly enough, Ward’s failed replacement in Carolina, Scott Darling, also remains an unsigned free agent, waiting for a market to develop. Just two UFA goaltenders – Anthony Stolarz and Jared Coreau – have signed an NHL contract since July 2nd and no goalie has been inked in 50 days. The market is dead quiet, but Ward’s exit leaves Darling as the obvious top name if a team does come calling. Darling, 30, is just hoping at this point that he too doesn’t have to consider retirement.
It was not long ago that Darling was actually considered one of the best backup goaltenders in the NHL. A 2007 draft pick, Darling was a slow-developing prospect who played another year of juniors, two years in college, and four years bouncing around the minors before he ever saw NHL action. However, when he broke through in 2014-15 with the Chicago Blackhawks, he immediately impressed. Darling spent three seasons as the backup to Corey Crawford, with his role increasing each year, and in total posted 39 wins, a .923 save percentage, and a 2.37 GAA in 75 appearances.
The Hurricanes believed they were getting a bargain when they acquired Darling for a third-round pick in the summer of 2017 and signed him to a four-year, $16.6MM contract. However, it quickly became clear that the star backup was not cut out to be a starter. Darling was unable to overtake Ward despite ample opportunity, posting an .888 save percentage and 3.18 GAA in 43 appearances. Darling made 40 starts to Ward’s 42 and was outplayed by the aging veteran, which is not what either he nor Carolina had hoped for.
The ‘Canes essentially cleaned house last summer, letting Ward walk in free agency and burying Darling in the AHL, replacing them with the far more effective duo of Petr Mrazek and Curtis McElhinney. Darling did make eight spot starts for Carolina this past season, but somehow performed even worse than he did the year prior. In the minors, Darling sat behind lauded prospect Alex Nedeljkovic and when he did get a chance to play – he made just 14 appearances – the results were just as bad if not worse than his NHL performance. Not wanting to be weighed down by Darling’s $4.15MM cap hit any longer, the team traded him to the Florida Panthers this off-season along with a sixth-round draft pick for a new backup in James Reimer. The Panthers quickly bought out Darling, making him a free agent.
Potential Suitors
It has now been more than two years since anyone has been impressed by Darling’s efforts on the ice. With that said, the free agent market at goalie is slim pickings, with Darling easily headlining a group that includes Michal Neuvirth – who has signed a PTO with the Toronto Maple Leafs – Chad Johnson, Al Montoya, and Michael Leighton. Each of those players is both older than Darling and was last considered a legitimate NHL option far prior to Darling’s downfall. Darling is simply the best of a poor group, but is looking for redemption. Unlike Ward, Darling will have no expectations of any role or guaranteed play time. He will instead be looking for an opportunity to show that he can still be an effective NHL backup, likely by seeking a third-string role with the chance to battle for play time at the top level.
Accepting a role such as this could open some opportunities for Darling, especially once training camp begins. Injuries to starters or backups can shift the paradigm for an NHL team and leave them searching or an experienced option. The Vegas Golden Knights, Anaheim Ducks, and Philadelphia Flyers are examples of teams with shallow depth in net and injury concerns who could turn to Darling in the even of an incident.
It’s also very possible that several teams are already aware of their weaknesses in goal and simply waiting to see how their current keepers look in training camp and the preseason and potentially even early on the in the regular season. The Columbus Blue Jackets are the one team that everyone is focused on in net, as the team is set to have former backup Joonas Korpisalo and newly-signed European prospect Elvis Merzlikins begin the year as a young, unproven tandem. Early concerns could lead to Columbus looking for additional support, with Darling as the top option other than trade or waivers. The Colorado Avalanche are also in need of depth in net. Their top two of Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz are likely to be fine this season, but the lack of any other experienced name behind them could be a cause for pause, especially given this will be Francouz’ first full NHL season.
Ironically, the Florida Panthers are one final team that could be in the goalie market and would have been a good fit for Darling. The team understandably bought out Darling’s hefty contract, but could’ve actually used a player of his experience. The Panthers spent big on Sergei Bobrovsky’s this summer and will likely ask him to start 65+ games this season, but young Samuel Montembeault is currently slated to be his backup with other untested prospects behind him. Montembeault’s performance in the backup role, as well as the effect on his development of sitting so often, could lead the Panthers to search for a veteran option. Darling won’t be the answer now, but one has to wonder if the two sides connected at all prior to what was clearly an orchestrated trade-and-dump.
Projected Contract
It’s nearly September and teams are getting ready for training camp, yet Darling still sits without a contract. At this point, he will receive a PTO or nothing. Even if he proves himself in camp, it will likely only result in a minimum $700K NHL cap hit on a one-year, two-way deal. If that’s what it takes to climb his back way into the NHL though, Darling will surely take it. After all, he’s receiving a nice pay check from the Panthers for four more years anyway.
Chuck Fletcher “Not Concerned” About Lingering RFA Negotiations
The Philadelphia Flyers are like a dozen other teams around the NHL, waiting to have some clarity on whether their top restricted free agents will be suiting up when training camp opens in a few weeks. The Flyers have two top players still without contracts in Ivan Provorov and Travis Konecny, but GM Chuck Fletcher isn’t ready to panic just because they aren’t signed yet. Speaking with Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer yesterday, Fletcher explained the Flyers are in the same situation as all of the other teams but isn’t stressing out:
We’ll keep working at it. They’re good young players and we expect to have them signed and ready to go as soon as we can. … Right now, the landscape league-wide is murky, and I think things will start to clear up in the next few weeks. At this point, I’m not concerned. This has been the trend the last few years.
Fletcher is right, restricted free agents have started to wait longer and longer to sign their deals, though this crop is even bigger than normal. Last summer saw Noah Hanifin, Ondrej Kase, Josh Morrissey, Darnell Nurse, Sam Reinhart and Shea Theodore all sign in either late-August or September, and among high profile players only William Nylander‘s negotiation leaked into the season. That group doesn’t exactly stand up to names like Mitch Marner, Brayden Point and Mikko Rantanen, but it’s not just complementary or depth players either.
Things will certainly start to clear up for some of the restricted free agents in the near future, but there’s certainly no guarantee that both Konecny and Provorov will be signed by camp. Carchidi suggests that Provorov could get a deal worth around $7MM per season while Konecny is expected to get somewhere between $4-4.5MM per season. Obviously both of those cap numbers are contingent on the term of the contracts.
Tyler Pitlick Out Four Weeks Following Surgery
The Philadelphia Flyers will be without newcomer Tyler Pitlick in training camp after he underwent wrist surgery last week. Pitlick will start rehab next month and is expected to be out four weeks. The injury was suffered during offseason training, but to the same wrist that Pitlick had surgery on just six months ago.
Philadelphia acquired Pitlick from the Dallas Stars in exchange for the rights to Ryan Hartman earlier this offseason—who ended up going unqualified and eventually signed with the Minnesota Wild—and was expected to compete for playing time in the bottom-six this season. The 27-year old is on the final season of a three-year contract that carries a $1MM salary but played just 47 games for the Stars last season and scored 12 points. With several young Flyers prospects ready to fight for roster spots there was never a guarantee that Pitlick would get a full-time role, and missing training camp with his second wrist surgery only complicates things.
A four-week timeline would have Pitlick back in time for the regular season, but without a training camp he may have difficulty ramping up to game speed in time to be on the opening night roster. He’ll have to work hard in his rehab and compete in whatever chance he gets with the team to show he can make a positive impact on the NHL roster. The team could likely send him to the AHL for a conditioning stint at the beginning of the season, which would also give them a chance to try out some of the young players like Morgan Frost or German Rubtsov.
Metropolitan Notes: Hall, Hayes, Greiss
No one expected for New Jersey star and 2017-18 Hart Trophy winner to miss as much time as he did last season. The Devils’ forward didn’t play another game after Christmas due to a knee injury and then in February underwent arthroscopic knee surgery that helped keep him out for the rest of the year.
However, NHL.com reports that Hall now says he’s fully healthy and will be ready for training camp.
“I feel really good,” Hall said. “It’s been a long process not playing a game for that long. It really takes a toll on you mentally but being back on the ice and being able to play at a at a pretty high intensity, even though it’s just the summer, feels really nice. I haven’t had any issues with the knee so far since I’ve been skating, and it’s been a really good process, so hopefully that can continue in [training] camp.”
Despite than missing more than half a season (33 games total), he still was on pace for a big season with 11 goals and 37 points and the 27-year-old is hoping to return to his 2017-18 success when he tallied 39 goals and 92 points and helped, practically single-handedly, lead the Devils to a playoff berth. He will have much more help this season as New Jersey have added first-overall pick Jack Hughes to the team as well as star defenseman P.K. Subban and KHL star Nikita Gusev.
- The Philadelphia Flyers were able to sign second-line center Kevin Hayes this offseason, but there were many who wondered whether Hayes would choose to sign with Philadelphia after the team hired head coach Alain Vigneault this summer. Vigneault, who coached Hayes with the Rangers, was known to limit Hayes’ playing time on the power play. However, Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi writes that Hayes said that Vigneault was one of the main reasons why he signed in Philadelphia. “I had a great relationship with AV,” said Hayes. “Obviously as a player, you want to play the most minutes and you want to play in every situation. But when I entered the league, you have to prove yourself, and I thought every year with AV, I got more and more ice time and more and more situational play. We had a fine relationship, to be honest, off the ice and on the ice.”
- Newsday’s Andrew Gross writes that New York Islanders goaltender Thomas Greiss said he doesn’t know how much playing time he will get this year as the backup behind recently signed Semyon Varlamov. “I have no clue what happens,” Greiss said when asked whether he expected to split time with Varlamov. “It depends what’s happening on the ice. If you play well, you’ll get the ice time. If you don’t play well, then we’ll see you on the bench.” Despite quite a bit of attention that was geared towards Robin Lehner last year, Greiss had an impressive season as well. He played 43 games with a 2.28 GAA and a .927 save percentage, but only made one appearance in the playoffs. Varlamov was signed to a four-year, $20MM deal and will likely be expected to carry the load. However, with Varlamov’s injury history, Greiss might get plenty of playing time.
Minnesota GM Search Down To Three
The Minnesota Wild seem to have narrowed their search down a bit as three names seem to have forced their way to the top. In his recent mailbag, The Athletic’s Michael Russo (subscription required) writes that it likely will come down to Pittsburgh Penguins assistant GM Bill Guerin, Montreal Canadiens assistant GM Scott Mellanby and former Philadelphia Flyers GM Ron Hextall.
Guerin continues to be the frontrunner as Wild owner Craig Leipold is enamored by Guerin’s stature and leadership, something that is of high priority after issues with previous GM Paul Fenton, who lasted just over a year with many issues surrounding his ability to lead. Guerin is believed to be a man who can not just lead a front office, but has the ability to affect the coaching staff and the players in a positive way, which Russo believes makes him the favorite. The only issue for the Wild is that they were hoping to get a general manager that already has experience as a GM, which Guerin doesn’t.
Hextall, who many thought was the favorite immediately when the job became available, is still in the mix. Russo writes that while there are rumors that many in Philadelphia were glad to see Hextall leave due to his lack of leadership, the scribe has interviewed quite a few people and believes that those complaints can be easily explained of justified, which might suggest that Hextall, who has the most experience as a general manager, might also make a good GM. However, if the team is worried about re-creating the same problem they had when Fenton was in charge, the team might opt to go in a different direction.
Mellanby could be the darkhorse, however. He has an impressive track record in Montreal and after interviewing on Wednesday, rumors are he impressed Leipold quite a bit. The only other longshot would be New Jersey’s Tom Fitzgerald, but after extensive interviewing with Minnesota a year ago, the Devils aren’t thrilled about allowing him to interview again and only allowed a 20-minute chat. There has been no further interviews with the idea that the only way it can hire Fitzgerald is if they just offer the job to him outright without further discussion, which seems unlikely.
Free Agent Profile: Andrew MacDonald
The Philadelphia Flyers had to make a tough decision earlier this summer when it opted to buy out veteran defenseman Andrew MacDonald. The veteran has been a key piece in the Flyers’ locker room, but the team felt it had to make a change. Regardless of the buyout, there should still be a place for the 32-year-old defenseman in the NHL. He just needs to find it. The blueliner may not be putting up big numbers on offense, but he could easily provide depth as a bottom-line defender for plenty of teams
MacDonald was acquired by Philadelphia back in 2014 from the New York Islanders and was promptly signed to a long-term extension, signing a six-year, $30MM deal a month after the trade. While the defenseman provided solid defense when on the ice, the veteran was often injured and slowly has seen his play decline as his $5MM AAV became a target of criticism for fans. The buyout was largely expected, but many Flyers praised the veteran for his leadership skills.
That ability to lead could give MacDonald an advantage as teams with a young defense might gravitate towards a player who could help lead. Unfortunately, perhaps the main reason that he hasn’t been signed yet is the fact that he has dealt with injuries and has slowed down a bit and certainly wasn’t worth the $5MM AAV that he signed years ago.
Potential Suitors
A possible return to the New York Islanders could always be a possibility. MacDonald played his best years here and could serve as a veteran who could fill in as a 6/7th blueliner and another veteran who could help out with a bunch of up-and-coming defensive prospects such as Noah Dobson and Bode Wilde. However, the team does have several veterans already and likely wouldn’t show a significant interest unless some of those players went down with injuries.
Although they have been mentioned often in regards to blueline free-agents, the Winnipeg Jets will be expected to add a few blueliners to fill out its depth eventually after the team locks up restricted free agents Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor. The veteran could also look to return to Canada and find a home there, but again teams like Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa may not be in need of a veteran blueliner as they all have quite a bit of depth.
In the end, however, MacDonald will likely just have to wait until teams lose a player to injury.
Projected Contract
MacDonald will never get anything near $5MM and likely at this point will have to accept a minimum salaried deal. Considering that he is still getting quite a bit from Philadelphia, that money should make it easier to accept any deal that might come along for him.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.