Goalie Market Far Too Crowded
Although the expansion draft and entry draft are the immediate matters on the minds of those not involved with the Finals, there is still ample reason to speculate on the UFA class. After all, the ability for teams to start signing players is less than a month away. In a particularly weak free agent class, however, one factor sticks out quite prominently. There are 10 goaltenders who played regularly for their teams this season, who will be vying for far fewer NHL roster spots. Only two teams are truly desperate for a starter, those being the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets.
None of the available goaltenders even cracks my top 25 free agents, which should indicate how poor some of the tenders’ seasons have been. That said, these 10 names combined have played thousands of NHL games. By my estimation, still leading the pack should be former Calgary Flame Brian Elliott. Elliott’s career stats are decent, and he’s only one season removed from a 38 win, .930 save percentage year with the Blues. However, he melted down in grand fashion this off-season en route to a sweep at the hands of the Anaheim Ducks. It may not be fair, but that will absolutely impact his perceived value around the league. His one-year contract gamble, which looked wise at the time, may cost him now. Also in the “top tier” of goaltenders available are Peter Budaj, who had a career year in Los Angeles, Mike Condon, who is one of the most valued backups league-wide, and Jonathan Bernier, who had 21 wins and a respectable .923 save percentage in the regular season before being totally usurped by John Gibson.
Then there is the “middle tier” of goaltenders who likely won’t see a ton of interest, but could easily serve backup duty, some only on a severely reduced contract. These include Ryan Miller, Chad Johnson, and Steve Mason. Ryan Miller is nearly 37 years old, and although he may still have a bit left in the tank, it’s impossible to imagine a team opting to make him their starter. Complicating matters is that Miller will likely want a multi-year agreement to bring him security. Chad Johnson will likely find work, but it could be a long while waiting. Teams will more than likely scour the field for the bigger names first, and only circle back to him as a security backup. Steve Mason is an interesting reclamation project, especially when you consider that his stats weren’t totally horrendous (.908 SV%, 2.66 GAA). However, his career numbers just aren’t that solid, and the absolute fury he invoked from the Flyers fanbase didn’t boost his confidence or stock. Mason will need to come to terms with the fact that he is no longer a number one goalie, nor will he be paid as one – he earned $4.1 MM on his last contract and he’ll see nowhere near that this time around.
Rounding out the “bottom-most” group is Ondrej Pavelec, Jhonas Enroth, and Curtis McElhinney. Out of these, McElhinney seems the only with a solid hope of finding a gig. He only played in 21 games this past year between Columbus and Toronto, but performed decently. His .917 save percentage, well up from his .905 career, might be just enough to negotiate a contract, perhaps in the event of an injury. Pavelec has been nothing short of a disaster in Winnipeg, with his only good statistical year being 2014-15. He played just 8 games last season, with a .888 SV%. He may be forced to look overseas for employment. Enroth hasn’t fared any better – he’s only played 17 games in the last two seasons, not even tallying a win in 2016-17.
Essentially, none of these goalies will be highly sought after. Condon could realistically see a starting role next season, as could Budaj, which would have been unthinkable in the not-so-distant past. Teams have many options when it comes to goaltending, but none of them are particularly awe-inspiring. The prices on contracts will likely be diminished substantially due to the abundance of available players, and agents could see this situation extend deep into the summer months.
No Progress In Talks Between Jordan Weal, Philadelphia Flyers
On the heels of announcing an extension for Shayne Gostisbehere, Philadelphia Flyers GM Ron Hextall also told reporters including Sam Carchidi of the Inquirer that he had not talked to Jordan Weal‘s camp since the combine and he doesn’t know if they are any closer to a deal. Despite the fact that he’s just 25, Weal is set to become a Group VI unrestricted free agent on July 1st.
Weal spent most of this season in the AHL once again, scoring 47 points in 43 games and showing that he deserved a chance at the NHL level. In four previous professional seasons, he’d only seen NHL ice 14 times but proved he belonged with 8 goals and 12 points in 23 games down the stretch. He was given a real role in the Flyers forward group, averaging more than 14 minutes a night and often being one of the better players on the ice. The former third-round pick was a big part of the deal that sent Luke Schenn and Vincent Lecavalier to Los Angeles, and watching him walk away for nothing would be a disappointing end to his Philadelphia tenure.
That said, 25-year old point-per-game players in the AHL don’t hit free agency very often and many teams would be interested in him. If the Flyers can’t offer him a role in the NHL, he’ll likely try his luck on a rebuilding franchise or even perhaps an expansion one. His skill and scoring prowess would be a welcome addition to the Golden Knights who will have to build a forward group from the scrap heap this summer. Whichever team does get him will likely have to offer him a one-way deal and an established role in the NHL.
Philadelphia Flyers Sign Shayne Gostisbehere To Six-Year Extension
The Philadelphia Flyers have gotten in on the offseason action, signing defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere to a multi-year contract. The deal is for six seasons, at an average annual value of $4.5MM. Gostisbehere was a restricted free agent, but was not eligible for arbitration after just his second full season in the league. The contract is front loaded, structured as follows:
- 2017-18: $6MM
- 2018-19: $6MM
- 2019-20: $5.25MM
- 2020-21: $3.25MM
- 2021-22: $3.25MM
- 2022-23: $3.25MM
Though he actually made his debut at the end of the 2014-15 season, Gostisbehere made his mark in 2015-16 when he set a rookie defenseman record with a 15-game point streak. With 46 points in 64 games, he finished second in voting for the Calder trophy and looked to be one of the brightest young stars on defense around the league.
Last year wasn’t as rosy though, as he struggled at times in his own end and was scratched multiple times by Dave Hakstol even while healthy. He still contributed at an excellent pace offensively scoring 39 points in 76 games, but saw his ice time dramatically scaled back at times and usage limited. His plus-minus rating plummeted, but his analytical possession stats actually increased making him a lightning rod for the different methods of rating a defender.
Now 24, Gostisbehere has shown he can be an elite powerplay quarterback and has the ability to impact a game tremendously (some would say for both teams). Though he’s left-handed, he spent a lot of time on the right side this year and has talked in the past about how difficult it was. Perhaps that can explain some of his issues in his own end, but he’ll have to get used to it as the Flyers group is made up of almost exclusively lefties.
A three-year contract would have taken Gostisbehere to unrestricted free agency, meaning they’ve bought out three additional UFA years for a fairly reasonable price. GM Ron Hextall, tight-lipped as ever, refused to reveal the details personally, only telling reporters like Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post that the team received “great cost certainty” with the contract. $4.5MM is a solid number for the Flyers to work with, comparing favorably to other offensive defensemen around the league. The deal will also take Gostisbehere to age-30, usually an age when players start a more rapid decline in performance.
Tyson Barrie signed a four-year contract last summer which pays him $5.5MM per season, Torey Krug signed a deal worth $5.25MM per season, and Sami Vatanen is signed for four seasons at $4.88MM. While all three of those players had longer track records, were in a different stage of restricted free agency, and could be considered superior to Gostisbehere in some circles, they also gave up fewer years of free agency and will all need new contracts before their 30th birthdays.
Tim Panaccio of CSN provided the financial totals, while Stephen Whyno of AP broke down the year-by-year numbers.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Morning Notes: Letang, Knoblauch, Vegas
Though he’s already been ruled out for the remainder of the Stanley Cup Finals, Kris Letang was on the ice today before Penguins practice skating alone and without equipment. Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star provided some video evidence, but it’s safe to say he wasn’t going full out. Letang is just two months into his rehab following neck surgery, which originally came with a four to six month recovery timetable.
It’s a great sign to see Letang back on the ice after such a disastrous season. Missing time with various ailments, the 30-year old defender only played in 41 regular season games and has missed the entire Cup run. With five years remaining on his current contract, the Penguins need him to come back strong and healthy next season.
- Kris Knoblauch has been hired in Philadelphia as an assistant coach, joining Dave Hakstol’s team. Knoblauch has been the head coach of the Erie Otters for the past five seasons, coaching players like Connor McDavid, Connor Brown, Andre Burakovsky, Dylan Strome and many others. Before that, he was the bench boss for the Kootenay Ice for two seasons, and won a WHL championship as a first-year head coach. His squads qualified for the Memorial Cup twice (including this year), but weren’t able to capture the trophy. He’ll replace the outgoing Joey Mullen and could even provide the Flyers with some extra OHL insight for the upcoming draft. Though it’s unlikely the Flyers would take an OHL player at #2, they do have ten other picks in the draft this year.
- Vegas is setting up to do some dealing this week, as George McPhee told Dan Marrazza of NHL.com. In all of his talks with the media, McPhee has seemed confident that several deals will be completed before the expansion draft. “We’ve had some real good discussions and I expect some things will start happening next week,” McPhee told Marrazza, a similar sentiment to the one he shared with Pierre LeBrun in their recent sit-down for TSN. There is even a mention of three-way deals that Vegas could facilitate, transactions that are rarely seen in the NHL. The Golden Knights could potentially sign free agents for teams ahead of time as well, during their exclusive negotiating window starting June 17th. There will be a freeze placed on any transactions around the league, except for the ones Vegas can make with UFAs or unprotected RFAs. It should make for an exciting week.
Eastern Notes: No. 1 pick, Neuvirth, Okposo
The New Jersey Devils have an interesting decision to make in the next three weeks when they have to make the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Not only must they decide whether to choose Nolan Patrick or Nico Hischier at that spot, the team is under extra pressure not to get the pick wrong, since the next pick goes to divisional rival Philadelphia.
However, did anyone learn much from this weekend’ scouting combine? The Record’s Andrew Gross spoke to Devils Director of Amateur Scouting Paul Castron who said the team learned very little they didn’t already know about the two players. “I don’t know. You try to get a little read on a personality, confidence,” Castron said. “Still, it comes down to a majority of what they do on the ice. It’s great if a kid is developed physically and they’ve put in the time. But take a step back. They’re still only 17. They’re not even scratching the surface of what they’re going to be physically.”
Early indications are that the Devils are likely to take Patrick, who is bigger and a better two-way player. Hischier is considered the faster and better offensive player.
The Flyers, have the easiest decision to make – pick the players the Devils didn’t. Most believe that the Flyers are hoping to get Hischier, who they believe has a higher upside, according to Sam Carchidi of philly.com. Hischier’s speed and creativity would be welcome on a straight-line team such as the Flyers who struggle to score points. The team may also need their second overall pick to play on the wing for a year until Valterri Filppula’s contract expires. That is an advantage to Hischier who has the speed to make that transition, something Patrick might struggle to do.
- Speaking of the Flyers, Carchidi spoke to Las Vegas Golden Knights general manager George McPhee, about expansion draft candidate Michal Neuvirth, who McPhee drafted in the second round in the 2006 draft when he was with the Washington Capitals. While the Golden Knights are looking at other goaltenders such as Washington’s Philipp Grubauer or New York Rangers’ Antti Raanta, they will be drafting more than one goaltender, which means Neuvirth is a possibility if the team exposes him. Current starter Steve Mason is an unrestricted free agent, however. “As a goaltender, we always described Michal as a guy who was technically perfect,” McPhee said at the NHL scouting combine Saturday. “He certainly has a great physique and body composition for the position.” Neuvirth struggled last year with a 2.82 GAA in 28 games, but had a career best 2.27 GAA in 2015-16.
- Buffalo Sabres Kyle Okposo visited the Buffalo Sabres facility for the first time in two months since he was hospitalized for an undisclosed illness. According to the Associated Press, the star forward was in good spirits at the unannounced visit and, according to anonymous source with direct knowledge of the situation, is improving, but has not been cleared to skate yet. Okposo spent a week at Buffalo General Hospital’s neurosurgical intensive care unit in early April. The 29-year-old wing just started a long-term deal with the Sabres at $6MM a year until the 2022-23 season.
Finals Notes: Rinne, Hagelin, Fisher
Pekka Rinne has been quite poor through two contests in Pittsburgh with a horrid save percentage of .778. Headed home, the expectation is that he will get the nod to start Game 3 with a raucous home crowd behind him. But the 21 year-old backup Juuse Saros shouldn’t get his baseball hat fitted quite so securely. Predators coach Peter Laviolette has been known to take massive gambles with his goaltenders come playoffs, and he’s found success while doing it. Back in 2007, Martin Gerber was rightfully scratched in favor of Cam Ward, who had a phenomenal playoff resulting in a Stanley Cup Victory. In 2010, Laviolette benched veteran Brian Boucher to tap AHL journeyman Michael Leighton, who miraculously led the 8th-seeded Flyers to a Game 6 overtime against the Chicago Blackhawks in a Stanley Cup Final. Saros is young, to be sure, and he only has 22 NHL contests under his belt, not counting his minimal relief effort in Pittsburgh. Rinne is a former Vezina winner and by all standards has “earned” the right to start Game 3 in his home barn. That said, Ward only had 28 contests under his belt when Laviolette made him the starter. If Rinne were to somehow find the bench tomorrow, it could complicate his future in Smashville. Rinne only has two years remaining at $7 MM per season, but he has been absolutely central to GM David Poile’s strategy thus far.
- Carl Hagelin isn’t happy to sit on the sidelines in Pittsburgh, as he was stated in an interview with the Tribune-Review. He’s frustrated with himself and his own performance, after only scoring one goal the entire playoffs and sitting out numerous contests. By all accounts, he has been a team player about the entire situation. He has never fully recovered from a lower-body injury, and the drop off in skating has been noticeable. Hagelin is having quite a different post-season than last, but his struggles didn’t begin in April. He potted only 6 goals and 22 points this season, with a shooting percentage of 4.7%. He looked out of sync with both Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel, and struggled to find his place following his demotion. The speed of Hagelin is still a deadly asset, but his play hasn’t warranted his $4 MM pricetag. When it comes time to protect players, Hagelin could theoretically find himself as a sacrificial lamb for Vegas to claim, with the dual purpose of saving cap dollars.
- Nashville captain Mike Fisher could be considering retirement following this post-season, according to NBC Sports. He is entering the final year of his contract and will become an unrestricted free agent at the age of 37. He had a solid season in Tennessee, posting 18 goals and 24 assists, an improvement over his prior two outings. He had a rough statistical start to the playoffs, going pointless through three rounds of play although he provided amazing defensive play and special teams expertise. Fisher would most likely take a moderate paycut from his current $4.4 MM to remain in Nashville for at least one more season, but his decision could be impacted by the hectic life of his wife Carrie Underwood. If he opted to retire, it would leave Nashville in a difficult situation of replacing both their leader as well as a #2 center. It seems likely that a deal can be worked out by management, especially in light of Nashville’s lengthy, successful campaign.
Philadelphia Flyers "Listening" On No. 2 Pick, Unlikely To Trade
The Philadelphia Flyers will listen to teams calling about the second-overall pick according to Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post, but don’t expect them to make any deals. After moving up in the draft lottery, the Flyers have a chance to pick an elite talent at No. 2 in Nico Hischier or Nolan Patrick and continue building towards a contender down the road.
With Travis Konecny, Ivan Provorov and others making an impact already, the Flyers look like they’ll have a real chance to surround Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek with enough talent to compete before they start to decline. Both stars are signed long-term for over $8MM, and still have enough good years left to be around when this year’s pick makes a real impact. The top prospects have been doing interviews at the NHL Combine, and will both participate in all the fitness testing this weekend.
Exclusive Negotiating Rights Of 33 Players Expire
The deadline for signing draft picks has come and gone, and unless more deals come in after the fact, 33 players will see their exclusive negotiating rights expire. With it they will either re-enter the 2017 draft for the final time or become free agents, depending on their age. None of the selections were made any higher than the fourth round, though even that is an unfortunate loss for a team hoping to hit a late-round stud. Below is the full list of players:
Buffalo Sabres
Giorgio Estephan (6th round, 2015)
Gustav Possler (5th round, 2013)
Calgary Flames
Riley Bruce (7th round, 2015)
Chicago Blackhawks
Roy Radke (6th round, 2015)
Colorado Avalanche
Wilhelm Westlund (7th round, 2013)
Ron Hextall Meets With Jordan Weal Camp, Discusses Contract
- Pierre LeBrun has been sitting down with GMs all week at the Draft Combine, and the venerable insider has a few more notes to pass along. First, he reports that Jordan Weal‘s agent met with Philadelphia GM Ron Hextall today. Despite being just 25, Weal will hit the open market on July 1st as a Group VI free agent if they don’t find common ground. The third-round pick has a ton of scoring ability and has dominated the AHL level since entering professional hockey. In 23 games with the Flyers this year, he registered 12 points and showed he may be ready for the next level.
Philadelphia Flyers Sign Oskar Lindblom To ELC
The Philadelphia Flyers have inked one of the top scorers out of Sweden, as Oskar Lindblom today signed his entry-level contract with the team. No financial details were released, but it will be a three-year entry-level contract.
Lindblom, a fifth-round pick for the Flyers in 2014, is coming off an incredible season in which he scored 47 points in 52 games, good enough for fourth in the entire league. He trailed three veteran forwards including Joakim Lindstrom, a former NHL forward who has put up elite numbers in Sweden every time he returns. Each of the three are at least 29, showing that Lindblom can compete with fully-grown men even at his young age.
His skating and skill is easy to spot, but it’s the fact that he’ll go into the “dirty” areas in front of the net that should help him most at the next level. He’s not exactly huge—though 6’1″ 192-lbs is nothing to sneeze at—but his ability to finish in traffic around the net is excellent. He’ll look to pass to the open teammate first, but isn’t afraid to take a shot when in a prime scoring area.
Last year after his SHL season finished, Lindblom came to North America and played eight games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on an amateur tryout. He showed that his scoring touch would translate to the North American professional ranks, registering seven points in eight games. He very well may skip over the AHL this time around and break camp with the Flyers as an option on the left wing.