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Free Agent Focus: Pittsburgh Penguins

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Free agency is now less than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  The Penguins have their core already under contract but will have some work to do to fill out the end of their roster.  Here’s a closer look at their free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: D Marcus Pettersson – After being a depth piece with Anaheim, Pettersson stepped into a larger role upon his early-season acquisition and really established himself as a capable blueliner.  He also showed a bit of offensive upside, something that hadn’t been all that prevalent dating back to his time in Sweden.  Pettersson’s emergence helped pave the way for the Penguins to deal Jamie Oleksiak back to Dallas later on in the season as well as move Olli Maatta to Chicago this past weekend.  He doesn’t have arbitration rights and thus doesn’t have a lot of leverage so between that and their salary cap situation, expect a short-term bridge deal with the hopes that he’ll outperform it.

F Zach Aston-Reese – One of the top college free agents in the 2017 class, Aston-Reese began to establish himself as a regular in the second half of the season while also suiting up in all four games in the postseason.  At this point, the 24-year-old is likely to see a lot of time on the fourth line though he is capable enough offensively to move up if injuries arise.  Even though he is arbitration-eligible, players like this without much of a track record at the NHL level don’t tend to get big raises so a one-year contract near his qualifying offer (just over $874K) is likely what he’ll wind up with.

Other RFAs: F Joseph Blandisi, F Teddy Blueger, F Adam Johnson, D Jeff Taylor

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Matt Cullen – His second go-round with Pittsburgh wasn’t as successful as his first but Cullen still provided some contributions to the fourth line.  He was their second-best option at the faceoff dot while he chipped in on the penalty kill and added a respectable 20 points.  For the league minimum salary, that was pretty good bang for their buck.  However, Cullen turns 43 in November and at some point, they’ll need to try a younger player in that role.  The time for that change is probably this summer.

F Garrett Wilson – The 28-year-old got his first taste of extended NHL action, getting into 50 games with the Penguins after playing just 34 in the seasons leading up to that.  He was limited to a spot on the fourth line despite some impressive numbers in the early going with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (18 points in 18 games).  He could get a look from more than just Pittsburgh this summer but every offer is likely to be around the league minimum.

Other UFAs: D Kevin Czuczman, F Jimmy Hayes, G John Muse, D Ethan Prow, F Ben Sexton, D Chris Summers, D Zach Trotman, D Chris Wideman

Projected Cap Space: As is almost always the case, cap space is at a premium for the Penguins.  They have over $76.6MM committed for next season already, per CapFriendly and several spots still to fill on the roster.  They can do that with contracts that are close to the league minimum but if they want to add another impact player, they’ll need to free up some cap room first.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Flames, Draft Rankings, Penguins

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The Calgary Flames have renewed their affiliation with the Kansas City Mavericks through the 2019-20 season, keeping their ECHL franchise in place for a third season. The Mavericks reached the playoffs this season for just the second time in team history, recording a 36-30-6 record under head coach John-Scott Dickson. Flames AGM Brad Pascall released a statement on the agreement:

The Calgary Flames and the Stockton Heat are pleased to continue our affiliation agreement with the ECHL’s Kansas City Mavericks. Kansas City is a first class franchise with quality ownership and management and they share the same principles and objectives for player development as our organization.

The ECHL is turning into an important development league for every NHL organization and is no different for Calgary, who relied on the Mavericks to provide playing time for top goaltending prospects Mason McDonald and Nick Schneider this season. A continuing partnership can only help to build stability throughout the entire three-tiered development structure, and provide a place where raw or unheralded prospects can work on their game.

  • Speaking of prospects, Bob McKenzie of TSN has released his final draft ranking which is based on the opinion of ten active NHL scouts. The list has Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko at the top to no one’s surprise, but the pair of star forwards are followed by Bowen Byram, the top defender in the class. Diminutive sniper Cole Caufield and injured Peyton Krebs find themselves just sneaking into the top-10, while Spencer Knight is all the way up at No. 12. The ranking is by no means a mock draft, but can often give insight into the way teams around the NHL perceive certain players.
  • The Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins have signed Macoy Erkamps and Blake Siebenaler to AHL contracts for 2019-20. Both players were acquired by trade during the 2018-19 season and were scheduled to become restricted free agents this summer. Instead of issuing the pair of defensemen qualifying offers—or failing to do so and seeing them hit unrestricted free agency—the Penguins have found a sort of middle ground that keeps them in the organization while not taking up one of their NHL contract slots. 24-year old Erkamps had four points in 24 games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton following the trade, while 23-year old Siebenaler saw more time with the Wheeling Nailers in the ECHL.

Metropolitan Notes: Available Draft Picks, Hayes, Orpik, Burakovsky

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With the NHL Entry Draft fast approaching later this week, there are plenty of teams looking to make trades or even better, looking to move up in the draft, especially in the first round. The trick is finding a team who would be willing to move their first-round selection.

The Athletic’s Craig Custance (subscription required) looks at the entire first round and identifies team that might be open to trading their first-round pick and it doesn’t take long to notice that there are plenty of Metropolitan Division teams on his list of teams. The New York Rangers, already picking at the No. 2 position, also have the 20th pick in the draft, acquired from Winnipeg for Kevin Hayes, and might be willing to move that to further hasten their rebuild. In fact, it’s already been rumored to be sent back to Winnipeg as part of a package to acquire Jacob Trouba. The Philadelphia Flyers could be a team that might be willing to move the 11th overall pick as they are also looking to make changes to get them back into the playoff discussion.

Custance adds that you can’t count out either Pittsburgh (#21) or Carolina (#28) as well. The Penguins might be more open to moving the pick as they want to get one more chance at the title before the Sidney Crosby era ends, while Carolina wants to continue with the success they had last year and wants to continually build its core.

  • NHL.com’s Bill Meltzer writes that the Philadelphia Flyers are still working on a new contract for Hayes, according to general manager Chuck Fletcher. The team traded a fifth-round pick to acquire Hayes’ rights recently in hopes they could begin negotiating early and convince him to sign before other teams could be allowed to speak to him. “We’ve had some very good, constructive dialogue with Kevin. We’re continuing to work with his representation. We’ll see how things play out, but so far it’s been a positive process,” Fletcher said.
  • NBC Sports’ J.J. Regan writes that when the Washington Capitals acquired Radko Gudas from Philadelphia for Matt Niskanen, it likely ended the team’s relationship with veteran Brooks Orpik as well. The Capitals already had six defensemen under contract and restricted free agent Christian Djoos would make seven once they re-sign him. That would make Orpik the team’s eighth defenseman and with plenty of cap issues, it would be highly unlikely the team would consider bringing him back. Orpik said he would decide later this offseason whether he would retire or come back for one more year, but if he does want to come back, it’s likely going to be with another team.
  • NBC Sports’ James O’Brien also adds that with the signing of Carl Hagelin to a new four-year extension, that leaves little money left for the rest of their roster. The team already has committed $72.26MM committed to 17 players, leaving them with approximately $10.7MM in cap space to fill out their roster, assuming the salary cap will be set at $83MM this year, which is not a certainty. The team still has a number of key unsigned players, included unrestricted free agent Brett Connolly and restricted free agents Jakub Vrana and Andre Burakovsky. O’Brien wonders whether the Hagelin deal could mean the team considers moving Burakovsky’s rights. The Capitals and Burakovsky have had issues with each other at times, but the 24-year-old might be worth something as he still has quite a bit of talent left in him.

Pittsburgh Penguins Trade Olli Maatta To Chicago

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have traded defenseman Olli Maatta to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Dominik Kahun and a 2019 fifth-round pick, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger.

With a surplus of defensemen on their roster, the Penguins were going to have to make a move and unload one of their defensemen as the team already had Kris Letang, Justin Schultz, Brian Dumoulin, Erik Gudbranson, Jack Johnson, Chad Ruhwedel and Marcus Pettersson on the NHL roster. Maatta was a prime candidate to be moved after a so-so season in which the 24-year-old went from a seven-goal, 29-point season in 2017-18 to a one-goal, 14-point season this past year. Injuries have also plagued Maatta as he missed six weeks with an upper-body injury late in the season.

It looks like Pittsburgh got good value in return for Maatta, however, as they team picks up Kahun, who had an impressive rookie season for Chicago. The 23-year-old signed a two-year entry-level deal out of Germany and immediately proved his worth by making the Blackhawks’ squad out of training camp and showed off his versatility by being able to play any forward position. He contributed 13 goals and 37 points, but with the number of NHL forwards that Chicago has on its roster, the team had the luxury of trading one away to bolster its defensive core. Kahun should bolster the team’s middle-six, providing offense on whatever line the team needs. Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford spoke highly of the new addition:

He is a speedy, versatile player capable of playing all three forward positions. He also saw time on Chicago’s power-play and penalty killing units. We are very excited for him to join our team.

While adding Kahun, perhaps the biggest plus to the trade was freeing up some cap space. By moving his three years and $4.08MM contract and acquiring the cheaper Kahun ($925K), the Penguins have added $3.16MM in cap space this season. The Penguins also add a coveted draft pick for this year, even if it’s in the fifth round. Pittsburgh had already traded away its second, third, fourth and sixth-round picks for this draft, so adding a second fifth-rounder helps make up for those lost picks.

For Chicago, with $19MM in projected cap space this offseason, adding Maatta’s contract wasn’t a problem and the team still is expected to have more than $17MM in cap space to make more moves this offseason. The team needed to add some experienced depth to its team and it likely was going to do it via trade. The fact that Maatta is left-handed, however, will have him battling with a group of left-handers for playing time, including Duncan Keith, Erik Gustafsson, Slater Koekkoek and Carl Dahlstrom.

 

Rutherford: Penguins Open To Trading Down At The Draft

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While the update on the Phil Kessel situation yesterday drew the headlines, GM Jim Rutherford had another comment of note.  Speaking with reporters, including Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, he indicated that he’s open to moving down from the 21st pick and would like to add another pick or two to their current set of picks (five in total).  Rutherford is no stranger to not picking in the first round as they’ve only picked there once in his previous five years with the team.  (That player, Kasperi Kapanen, was dealt one year later.)  Vensel notes that goaltender Tristan Jarry could be dangled to try to add another selection while they could also look to move a surplus blueliner to accomplish that objective.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • The Blackhawks aren’t likely to re-sign goaltender Anton Forsberg this summer, reports Jimmy Greenfield of the Chicago Tribune. The 26-year-old was once viewed as Chicago’s backup of the future but struggled when in that role, resulting in them signing Cam Ward last July and pushing Forsberg back to the minors in the process.  With the emergence of Collin Delia as a potential number two to Corey Crawford and Kevin Lankinen showing that he’s ready for a larger workload in the AHL, there doesn’t appear to be room for Forsberg moving forward.
  • Speaking of Chicago goalies, Blackhawks goalie prospect Wouter Peeters has inked a tryout deal with Tappara, the Finnish team announced (Twitter link). The 2016 third-round pick has not progressed as hoped and will need a big year in 2019-20 to have a shot at getting an entry-level contract.  Chicago holds his rights until June 1st, 2020.
  • Kings winger Nikita Scherbak is expected to sign with Avangard Omsk of the KHL, reports Igor Eronko of Sport-Express. The 2014 first-round pick had a tough season.  He was injured early on in Montreal, struggled in a rehab assignment before getting injured again, and didn’t fare well with Los Angeles after they claimed him off waivers in December.  The Kings can retain his NHL rights by issuing him a qualifying offer in the hopes that some time overseas can help his development.
  • Meanwhile, from the same report, Eronko notes that Jets defenseman Bogdan Kiselevich is expected to return to CSKA Moscow of the KHL. He parlayed a good showing at the 2018 Olympics into a contract with Florida but played a minimal role with them before being flipped to the Jets at the deadline where he served as injury depth but never got into a game.

Phil Kessel Trade Now Unlikely, Says Pittsburgh GM

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The Pittsburgh Penguins tried to trade Phil Kessel last month to the Minnesota Wild, but after the enigmatic forward wouldn’t waive his no-trade clause the deal fell apart. Now, in conversation with The Athletic’s Josh Yohe (subscription required), Penguins GM Jim Rutherford admits that Kessel will likely play for Pittsburgh next season.

Kessel, 31, has three years remaining on his contract with the Penguins but holds a no-trade clause that limits the teams he can be sent to. In fact, Kessel submits a list of just eight teams he would accept trades to, and given his history in certain markets that likely leaves only a few real options for Rutherford. With such a huge leverage advantage, it’s easy to see why the Penguins GM is resigned to having his star forward remain next year. There was no use in trading him without getting something in return, as even with his ’problem child’ persona—tenuous as that moniker may be.

Kessel is after all an incredible offensive weapon even as he enters his thirties. He recorded 82 points in 82 games last season, and now has 823 for his career through 996 regular season games. That huge total of games played comes from the face that he has now not missed a single game in nine consecutive seasons, consistency that is also valuable to a team looking to contend for the Stanley Cup.

Still, Rutherford has been clear that he intends on shaking things up in Pittsburgh this summer. While he has backed off his earlier comments about Evgeni Malkin potentially not being a core piece any longer—Rutherford tells Yohe that he “knew [Malkin] was going to be part of this team going forward”—there is still real change brewing for the team. Kessel’s nixed trade proves that, but the veteran GM will need to find another way to clear cap space and give his club a different look next season.

Patrick Marleau, Toronto Maple Leafs Ready To Part Ways

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A rumor several days ago suggested that the Toronto Maple Leafs would like to move on from 39-year-old winger Patrick Marleau, who is coming off a disappointing season this past season. With Toronto’s general manager Kyle Dubas trying to balance multiple players and their contracts into the team’s already full salary cap, the team was expecting more out of Marleau, who posted his worst goal totals (16) since his rookie campaign back in the 1997-98 season.

While many have squashed the rumors that Toronto was trying to send him to the Los Angeles Kings Friday, Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos reported late last night during a Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada that Marleau would like to leave Toronto and would prefer to be moved to a west coast team:

It sounds like Marleau and the Maple Leafs are set to part ways. The family is going to move back to San Jose. Patrick Marleau has made it clear to the Toronto Maple Leafs that he’d like to get closer to his family once again, which means moving to the west coast area.

That could make Los Angeles a legitimate candidate, despite reports to the contrary. Kypreos also mentioned the Colorado Avalanche and Arizona Coyotes as other options for Marleau, while can you never totally rule out a return to San Jose. The original belief is that with a no-movement clause, the Maple Leafs might have had a challenging time finding a trade partner considering he could reject any offer, but it now looks like Marleau will be much more willing to move on from Toronto. Marleau, who will be wrapping up the final year of the three-year, $18.75MM deal he signed back in 2017, will make only make $4.25MM next season, but does carry a $6.25MM AAV. The Maple Leafs would likely have to attach a pick or prospect to any deal to unload Marleau’s contract and might even have to retain salary to make a deal work.

The Avalanche might be one of the best options for Toronto as Colorado should have more than $37MM in available cap space, although the team has a number of important restricted free agents they must re-sign, including winger Mikko Rantanen. However, Marleau could be a veteran presence the Avalanche wouldn’t mind adding for one season. The other teams would require sending another significant contract back to Toronto, perhaps one with a lower AAV, but longer term. The Kings would have to send back a contract and while they might be willing to move on from some players such as forwards Ilya Kovalchuk (two more years at $6.25MM), Dustin Brown (three more years at $5.875MM) or defenseman Dion Phaneuf (two more years at $5.25MM), none of whom would fulfill Dubas’ desire to free up salary cap space. Arizona, which is another team that must deal with salary cap issues starting this off-season, has a few cheaper options and could be an interesting option, including forward Michael Grabner (two more years at $3.35MM) or defenseman Jason Demers (two more years at $3.94MM).

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Goaltender Emil Larmi To Entry-Level Deal

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The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to find ways to add prospects. Having traded away their second, third, fourth and sixth-round picks in this year’s draft, the Penguins opted to grab a prospect from overseas, as they announced they have signed 22-year-old Finnish goaltender Emil Larmi to a two-year, entry-level contract. The deal has a NHL salary of $700K.

Larmi is coming off an impressive season in the Liiga, where he played 36 games for HPK Hameenlinna, posting a 1.94 GAA and a .900 save percentage, but was even more impressive in 18 playoff games as he led his team to the championships with 12 wins, a 1.72 GAA, a .930 save percentage and two shutouts in the finals. Penguins goaltending development coach Andy Chiodo, who has extensively scouted Larmi in Finland, said of the young keeper:

Emil is coming off of a fantastic playoff run with HPK, and has proved himself to be one of the best goaltenders in Liiga. He’s an athletic and mobile goaltender that reads the game well and is highly competitive. We are excited for Emil to join our organization as he transitions to life and hockey in North America.

Larmi went undrafted as teams were likely wary of his stature as he stands just 6’0″ and 185 pounds. He has spent the last three years with HPK and helped Team Finland win a gold medal at the 2016 World Junior Championship. The goaltender is also teammates with current Penguins prospect Niclas Almari. Larmi could be insurance for their AHL team if they choose to trade goaltending prospect Tristan Jarry this off-season. The team traded away goaltending prospect Filip Gustavsson at the 2018 trade deadline as well and were in need of a boost in the pipeline. The team has only one minor league prospect under contract after Jarry in Alex D’Orio, who has struggled in his two most recent campaigns in the QMJHL.

Philadelphia Flyers Expected To Be Aggressive This Offseason

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After a disappointing 2018-19 season, the Philadelphia Flyers find themselves in a situation in which they have many pieces that could make them a playoff team, but not enough to actually take that next step. The franchise, who many thought would be a playoff contender last year, instead struggled out of the gate, before both general manager Ron Hextall and head coach Dave Hakstol lost their jobs and the team limped to a disappointing finish.

The Flyers, now under the control of new general manager Chuck Fletcher, are ready to make their next move and upgrade their team for a playoff run, according to NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman. The team has $33.4MM in cap space available to them and, while they do have some restricted free agents they must sign (including Ivan Provorov, Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim), they still should have quite a bit of cap space to make key moves. Rumors also suggest the team may be willing to move defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere in the right deal to add more scoring and a second-line center. Fletcher tells Kimelman that, one way or another, the team will be aggressive this summer:

I think we’re going to be very aggressive in the trade and free agent markets in the sense of looking into every possible situation that can help us. The unfortunate part is the vast majority of things you look into don’t work out. … So we’re going to be very aggressive in trying to fill the holes we feel we have. I don’t know if I can say we’ll be able to fill all of them.

However, Philly.com’s Sam Carchidi added today that the team would be willing to move their first-round pick, if it means filling all of those holes, and that Fletcher has already been listening to offers. “If we can get a good player at the right stage of his career and with some term left on his contract, we’d certainly look at it,” Fletcher said, while adding that if they don’t get the right offer, they’d be happy to keep the pick.

If the team cannot pull off a big trade, Fletcher has said the team would be more than willing to bring in veteran players on short-term deals. The other option would be to allow some of their top young prospects to earn their way into the lineup a little quicker than originally anticipated. The team does have a number of interesting prospects, including forwards Morgan Frost, Isaac Ratcliffe, and Joel Farabee, who will all be turning pro this season. Fletcher feels that this depth of young talent could be ready to make a difference this year, if necessary:

[The young players] certainly could be [roster options]. I think the odds would be against them making our team coming out of camp. But I don’t like cutting players before training camp. I say that because I think our expectation is we’ll find a player or two to come in. For 20-year-old kids, in Farabee’s case 19, to get some playing time in the [American Hockey League] is always a preferable option. But if they come in and they earn it, and there’s been players every year that seem to do it around the league, then certainly we won’t hold them back.

Prospect Notes: Calder Cup Final, Telegin, Phillips

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The finale of the AHL season gets underway tonight, as the Charlotte Checkers, affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes, are set to host the Chicago Wolves, affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights, in Game One of the Calder Cup Final. Neither squad is very familiar with being in this title series; the Wolves are making their first appearance as Vegas’ affiliate, given their parent club just wrapped up it’s second season in existence, while the Checkers have appeared twice in the final, most recently in 1991. The match-up that everyone will be watching for in the series is Cody Glass, the No. 6 overall pick in 2017 and the first draft selection in Vegas’ history, versus Martin Necas, the No. 12 pick in 2017 and Carolina’s top prospect. However, Necas has taken a back seat to several other Checkers forwards this postseason. After scoring 70 points in 72 games to finish fifth in league scoring in the regular season, Andrew Poturalski’s 18 points thus far also lead the postseason. It’s worth noting that Poturalski will be a Group 6 unrestricted free agent this summer and could be on the move in search of more NHL opportunity. Necas’ fellow AHL rookie, Morgan Geekie, has been right up there with Poturalski in playoff scoring, registering 15 points so far. Tomas Jurco and Aleksi Saarela have also played well for the Checkers, as has experienced defenseman Trevor Carrick. As for the Wolves, it has been goaltender Oscar Dansk leading the way, posting a .921 save percentage and 2.16 GAA through 14 starts. Up front, it’s been the veterans getting the job done, with Tomas Hyka, Curtis McKenzie, and Tye McGinn all among the AHL’s top ten in scoring this postseason. Rookie defenseman Zach Whitecloud has also been a revelation and continues to make a strong case for playing in Vegas next season. Everything considered, this should be a balanced, hard-fought series between two talented teams who are excited to be in the final. The schedule for the Calder Cup Final can be found here.

  • The Winnipeg Jets made a nice value addition this morning, signing Russian power forward Andrei Chibisov. As the team attacks their difficult salary cap situation this summer, affordable impact deals could be crucial and the team hopes Chibisov will pan out. Unfortunately, one of his fellow countrymen won’t be joining him in Winnipeg. Ivan Telegin, a draft pick of the Atlanta Thrashers all the way back in 2010, has opted to re-sign with his KHL club, CSKA Moscow. The team announced a new three-year deal with Telegin that likely rules out any potential future in the NHL. There was some thought that Telegin would consider returning to North America, where he previously played three seasons in the OHL and one season in the AHL, following a career-best KHL campagin. Telegin recorded 22 points in 49 games this season, production levels he hadn’t reached since his junior days. A player of similar size and ability to Chibisov, Telegin would have been another bottom-six option for Winnipeg, but with a long-term extension in Russia and his draft rights set to expire, it seems the pairing was never meant to be.
  • According to Jess Myers of the Grand Forks Herald, Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Clayton Phillips is on the move. Phillips, a third-round pick in 2017, just wrapped up his sophomore season at the University of Minnesota, but it appears it will be his last. Myers reports that Phillips is expected to transfer out of Minnesota and to a different NCAA institution. This likely means that he will have to sit out of college hockey next season due to NCAA transfer rules. In the meantime, Phillips is expected to return to the USHL’s Muskegeon Lumberjacks. The 19-year-old defenseman initially joined the Gophers earlier than expected, jumping in midway through the 2017-18 season. Sources that Myers spoke with felt this was a mistake, as he was not yet mature enough for the college game. It showed, as he was held scoreless in eleven games and got into frequent penalty trouble. This past season, Phillips improved to the tune of ten points in 34 games, but struggled defensively and simply wasn’t playing to the level that he, the university, nor the Penguins likely expected. A year back in juniors could be good for Phillips development, as the mobile blue liner can regain confidence in his abilities. Myers then speculates that he could join Penn State University or Colorado College in 2020.

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