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Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Filip Hallander To Entry-Level Deal

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The Pittsburgh Penguins announced they have signed forward Filip Hallander to a three-year entry-level contract. The team’s second-round pick from this year’s 2018 draft is expected to remain in Sweden to play for Timra IK in the Swedish Hockey League.

The 18-year-old forward played 40 games for Timra IK when the team played in the Allvenskan league, posting nine goals and 20 points. He also helped Sweden to a bronze medal in the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Cup, scoring three goals in five games. Hallander is known to be a solid skater, who can both shoot and pass the puck equally well. Many believe the 18-year-old is likely going to be a third-line forward in the NHL, but has the potential to work his way into a top-six forward.

The Penguins, who traded their first round pick to the Ottawa Senators in the Derick Brassard deal, traded up to select Hallander, sending the 64th and 146th selections to Colorado to acquire him with the 56th pick. He was the second player selected by Pittsburgh as the team took defenseman Calen Addison three picks earlier. Hallander was ranked the 13th best European skater by NHL Central Scouting.

Metropolitan Notes: Panarin, Oleksiak, Skjei

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With the team’s work with their restricted free agents now complete, Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen now has time to work on more important projects for the team. The GM’s top priority is to attempt to talk to star Artemi Panarin and try and talk him into signing a long-term deal. Now, NHL.com’s Igor Eronko reports that Kekalainen intends to meet with Panarin in France on Monday.

Panarin, who will be an unrestricted free agent next season, could become the headline superstar available to teams like John Tavares was this offseason. The 26-year-old originally signed with the Chicago Blackhawks and was traded a year ago to Columbus to alleviate salary cap issues. He posted excellent numbers with the Blue Jackets in the first season, putting upu 27 goals and a career-high 82 points. He has already stated that he isn’t willing to discuss an extension “as of now,” and it has been suggested by his agent Dan Milstein that the Blue Jackets might be better off trading him now.

Kekalainen obviously hopes that he can either convince Panarin to consider signing an extension soon or be convinced that he will have to make a trade to get Panarin to a team that he wants to play for.

  • The Pittsburgh Penguins locked up defenseman Jamie Oleksiak to a three-year, $6.4MM deal a few days ago, but it shows how far the 6-foot-7, 255-pound blueliner has come, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Unable to break into the Stars’ lineup throughout the first five years of his career, he found himself traded to Pittsburgh where assistant coaches Jacques Martin and Sergei Gonchar altered his entire game like the franchise has done in the last few years with other blueliners such as Justin Schultz, Ian Cole and Chad Ruhwedel. Using film, they have worked on his defensive skills, penalty killing, his shot and his stickhandling to start and have high expectations for him next season. His offense has already started as in 47 games with Pittsburgh he posted four goals and 14 points.
  • Shayna Goldman of The Athletic (subscription required) breaks down the New York Rangers restricted free agency dilemma, especially looking at what to do with defenseman Brady Skjei in regards to giving the blueliner a bridge deal or long-term deal. The scribe looks back to forward Kevin Hayes, also a restricted free agent, who received a two-year bridge deal, but now will cost the team quite a bit of money. Skjei, who is coming off a down year, might be better off with a bridge deal to see what kind of player he becomes over the next two seasons. However, a long-term deal might also be quite beneficial because it would come at a lower cost. Even if he doesn’t become more than a third-pairing defenseman, a low-cost long-term deal has quite a bit of trade value as well.

Metropolitan Notes: Brassard, Bjorkstrand, Quenneville

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With a sudden logjam at the center position, there was talk that the Pittsburgh Penguins might look to unload someone with the name of Derick Brassard being near the top of the list. However, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that the Penguins may now be looking to do something different instead.

The scribe writes that the Penguins intend to experiment with Brassard in hopes of converting the long-time center to the wing and move him up a line. The 30-year-old has played in 716 NHL games and has never played anywhere other than center. However, the belief is that with his skating and shooting skills, Brassard might be a solid wing option for either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin and would free up room for others to fill in the bottom-six center roles.

While Brassard was having a solid season with Ottawa, posting 18 goals in 58 games, he didn’t thrive as well in a lesser role in Pittsburgh, where he went from averaging 18:21 ATOI to 15:12 with the Penguins. However, an increased role in the team’s top-six could be exactly what Brassard and the Penguins both need.

  • The Columbus Blue Jackets may be getting close to signing one of their restricted free agents as The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline reports that the Blue Jackets and Oliver Bjorkstrand are closing in on a deal. Portzline follows that up by reporting that his sources say they are not buying out any of his unrestricted free agent years, suggesting it is likely to be a bridge deal, most likely for two or three years. The 23-year-old winger put up a solid season last year for Columbus, posting double-digit goals for the first time in his career, posting 11 goals and 40 points. Bjorkstrand just finished up his entry-level deal and was paid $872K.
  • New Jersey Devils prospect John Quenneville had high expectations coming into the 2017-18 season, but various injuries held him back and the 2013 first-round pick is starting to run out of chances to develop into the highly-touted prospect. In fact, in the team’s exit meeting with Queenville, the team was quite frank with the 22-year-old, telling him to get into shape. The Athletic’s Corey Masisak (subscription required) writes that Quenneville has done just that this offseason, working with a sports trainer alongside many athletes, including the New York Islanders’ Johnny Boychuk. He has already got himself to 210 pounds with just 9.3 percent body weight in hopes of finding a regular role in New Jersey. He only played two games for New Jersey and managed just 43 in Binghampton, posting 14 goals and 34 points.

Penguins Re-Sign Ethan Prow And Thomas DiPauli

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  • The Penguins have put pen to paper with two of their remaining restricted free agents.  CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the team has inked defenseman Ethan Prow and center Thomas DiPauli to one-year, two-way deals.  Prow receives a $650K salary in the NHL and $90K in the minors while DiPauli gets a $650K NHL salary and a $100K AHL salary while the deal contains a total $125K guarantee.  Both players spent last season with Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Poll: Where Will Max Pacioretty End Up?

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The Montreal Canadiens are looking to move Max Pacioretty as soon as possible. The captain’s contract expires at the end of the coming season and there will not be an extension. The Habs are also unlikely to be contenders this year. As such, Pacioretty is on the trade block and probably on the move soon.

Where could he end up? The first thought is the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks were reportedly close to a deal for Pacioretty at the NHL Draft but couldn’t get it done. Since then, they missed out on John Tavares and are still in need of scoring with cap space to spare.

San Jose was not alone in losing out in the Tavares sweepstakes. Assuming the Boston Bruins are an unlikely destination given their status as Montreal’s biggest rivals, that still leaves teams like the Dallas Stars and New York Islanders as possibilities. The Islanders in particular are in major need of a boost up front and have the young assets to make a deal.

Teams that have previously shown interest in Pacioretty include the Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators. The Panthers already landed Mike Hoffman this off-season and are lacking cap space, but could still potentially make it work. The Predators have significantly more space and some intriguing young pieces to offer and would be a team that Pacioretty certainly wouldn’t mind ending up with long-term.

As always, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks cannot be ruled out. Their respective GM’s are always in on the action and both teams are known to be looking for offensive depth. Would Pittsburgh consider swapping Derick Brassard in a deal for Pacioretty? Could Chicago use their newfound cap space from the Hossa trade to bring in a similar scorer? The answer to both of these questions is a definitive maybe.

Who do you think needs Pacioretty most or can put together the best offer?

Where Will Max Pacioretty End Up?
Chicago 22.60% (817 votes)
NY Islanders 16.40% (593 votes)
San Jose 12.75% (461 votes)
Pittsburgh 12.37% (447 votes)
Other - comment below 11.89% (430 votes)
Dallas 10.26% (371 votes)
Florida 9.05% (327 votes)
Nashville 4.67% (169 votes)
Total Votes: 3,615

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Teddy Blueger To One-Year Contract

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Teddy Blueger was eligible for salary arbitration but didn’t file when the deadline came and went earlier this month, but he hasn’t had to wait long for some future certainty. The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed Blueger to a one-year two-way contract worth $650K at the NHL level according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. Blueger will still be a restricted free agent when this deal expires in 2019.

Selected in the second round six years ago, Blueger has still yet to make his NHL debut. After four successful seasons in the NCAA, he jumped to the AHL where again he produced at a relatively good pace. Still, a team that has been desperate to find valuable, cheap, offensive players over the last few years hasn’t given him a chance at the highest level, instead bypassing him for other players like Dominik Simon and Zach Aston-Reese. That isn’t a good sign for his NHL future, given that Blueger will turn 24 this summer and hasn’t even received a sniff so far.

It’s not like Blueger hasn’t been able to show what he can do. A veteran at the international level already, the 23-year old forward competed in three World Junior tournaments for Latvia and has now represented his birth country at back-to-back World Championships. He’s still waiver-exempt, meaning that he could be used as an injury replacement this season, popping up and down without risk of being claimed by another team. But the Penguins have more than enough centers already given their signing of Matt Cullen and will be likely promoting winger Daniel Sprong full-time despite his struggles to crack the lineup. Blueger doesn’t have a clear path to the league, but with the Penguins every young player has to be ready as even a small chance can result in playing time with some of the best in the world.

Penguins Re-Sign Jamie Oleksiak

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The Pittsburgh Penguins had one arbitration hearing on the books this off-season and it can now be canceled. The team announced that they have agreed to terms on a new contract with defenseman Jamie Oleksiak. It is a three-year extension that carries a cap hit of approximately $2.14MM.

Oleksiak, 25, flourished in 2017-18 after a mid-season trade from the Dallas Stars. The 6’7″, 255-lb. bruiser had always been a difficulty to play against, but his offensive game developed nicely when he was given increased ice time and responsibility on the Pittsburgh blue line. In 47 regular season games with the Penguins, Oleksiak recorded 14 points; he had only managed to score 22 total points prior in 140 games with Dallas. He also took far more shots and carried the puck more often following the trade. Not only did this offensive uptick not come at the cost of defense, but Oleksiak actually improved his physical game with 138 hits with Pittsburgh – more than double his previous career high in any season with the Stars.

Oleksiak set career marks across the board with Pittsburgh and looked at home with his new team. Both sides are likely very happy with the term of this contract, while the salary is a nice bump for Oleksiak after six seasons coming in at under $1MM. The Penguins now have the bulk of their top six – Oleksiak, Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin, Jack Johnson, and Olli Maatta – signed through 2020-21. The deal does move Pittsburgh ever closer to the cap though; the team is currently projected to enter the upcoming season with just $745K in space with their current 23-man roster. The Penguins likely aren’t done making moves this off-season.

Will O’Neill Signs AHL Contract With Wilkes-Barre/Scranton

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In a somewhat surprising move, veteran defenseman Will O’Neill was unable to land an NHL contract this off-season. The 30-year-old blue liner was one of several signings announced today by the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. O’Neill returns to the Pittsburgh affiliate with whom he played for during the 2015-16 season on an NHL contract.

By any measure except age, O’Neill’s career trajectory appeared to be trending upward and certainly away from a minor league contract. The 2006 Atlanta Thrashers draft pick has spent almost all of his six-year pro career in the AHL, but every season except one has been played on an NHL contract. In fact, when O’Neill was last a free agent two years ago, he landed a two-year deal from the Philadelphia Flyers as a valued depth asset. This past season, O’Neill finally made his NHL debut and did not look out of place in a November contest against the St. Louis Blues. He also watched on as the extra man for several games with Philadelphia. In the AHL, O’Neill was a strong defensive presence and also recorded 19 points in 59 games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms – well off his career-high 50-point mark in an All-Star campaign with the Penguins two years ago, but also in far fewer games and in a more conservative role.

At 30, O’Neill was unlikely to be an NHL regular for anyone this season or in the future, but it certainly seemed like he had established himself as a viable depth option for a team. Obviously, that wasn’t the case as the veteran opted to sign an AHL contract. O’Neill could be the latest victim of a slow market for older defenseman. Similarly situated aging extra defender Taylor Chorney decided to sign overseas last week, while the Boston-area native O’Neill instead chose to stay at home in the U.S. on a minor league basis. Several other veteran defenseman could be choosing between the same two routes – or retirement – in the coming weeks as a quiet off-season wears on.

Snapshots: Hossa, Zadina, Brassard

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The Chicago Blackhawks have been quieter than usual this offseason and one reason that has been the case is that while it has some cap room to work with, the team didn’t have enough to make a major splash in free agency. The team had been linked at one time or another to players such as James van Riemsdyk, James Neal and David Perron, but were unable to work out a deal and a lot of that has to do with cap space. With its minor moves made after free agency began when the team inked Chris Kunitz, Cam Ward and Brandon Manning, the team only has just over $2MM to work with.

That’s where the contract of Marian Hossa comes in. His contract of $5.275MM is still stuck on the books for yet another offseason until the team can put it on LTIR to free up the money at the start of the NHL season. That’s what Chicago did last season, using that money to sign defenseman Cody Franson and using it on shuttling AHL talent back and forth all season. However, that didn’t work, according to The Athletic’s Scott Powers.

The general belief was the team wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice and would attempt to deal the bloated contract to a team that needs the contract to get them to the cap floor. However, there haven’t been any takers as teams want an asset in return for them to take on the 39-year-old’s contract, which the Blackhawks don’t want to do. They were burned back in 2016 when they threw in Teuvo Teravainen to Carolina to get the Hurricanes to take Bryan Bickell’s final year of his contract off their books. Teravainen put up 64 points this season.

One way or another, especially if the team still has plans to make a big offseason move, is to find a way to get Hossa and his contract permanently off their books, even if they have to give up a prospect.

  • With questions surrounding where prized 2018 first-rounder Filip Zadina may end up if he doesn’t make the Detroit Red Wings NHL lineup next season has been up for debate as there are rumors that the sixth-overall pick does not have to return to his junior team next season and could be eligible to jump right to the AHL. However, regardless on how the NHL decides that case, NBC Sports James O’Brien writes that it shouldn’t even matter. He writes that the team shouldn’t want Zadina to make the team next season as the team’s main focus should be to garner another high-end lottery pick next season to complete their rebuild. A 25-goal season by the flashy winger, who many had pegged as the No. 3 pick in the draft, could vault the team to that unenviable position of not being good enough to make the playoffs, but not being bad enough to get an elite prospect either. O’Brien hopes that the addition of free agent Thomas Vanek might help force Zadina to get much needed development time in the minors, no matter where he ends up.
  • Paul Zeise of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that while he envisions the Pittsburgh Penguins keeping Phil Kessel, who has been rumored to be moved out for much of the offseason, he could see the team move on from trade deadline acquisition Derick Brassard. The team suddenly has five centers and of them all Brassard is the most expendable. He has one year remaining on his deal at $3MM, but struggled to produce once he got to Pittsburgh, especially in the playoffs, posting just four points in 12 playoff games.

Metropolitan Notes: Johnson, Myers, Rangers

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While defensemen have been receiving big deals in the last week or two, one deal that caught many by surprise was the five-year, $16.25MM deal that Jack Johnson signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins signed on July 1. While Johnson was a highly-touted prospect at one time and developed into a solid NHL veteran, the five-year term seemed like a lot considering that the 31-year-old had lost his job at the end of the season with the Columbus Blue Jackets and instead took up a role as a healthy scratch for the remainder of the season and the playoffs. Johnson finished the year posting

Regardless, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford had coaches’ Mike Sullivan and Sergei Gonchar look into the three games leading up to Johnson’s benching and they walked away with a positive impression and the team signed the veteran.

The Athletic’s Jesse Marshall (subscription required) took a look at the three games before Johnson was benched and analyzes and breaks down the veteran’s play, citing that his performance was solid, but underwhelming and while the defenseman did have some bad luck at times, what stood out the most was his lack of involvement in the team’s offense as he seems to only have been focusing on his defensive game, which might be exactly what Rutherford and the Penguins want out of Johnson.

  • Charlie O’Connor of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that the Philadelphia Flyers’ signing of Christian Folin almost guarantees that defensive prospect Philippe Myers will begin the season with the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The 21-year-old undrafted free agent had a solid rookie season with the Phantoms last season and was expected to get a “long look” in Flyers training camp in September. However, with six quality NHL established defenseman already on the roster (not counting the injured Samuel Morin), Myers would have to beat one of them out to make the team. General manager Ron Hextall wouldn’t allow Myers to make the team as the team’s seventh defenseman when he could return to Lehigh Valley and get valuable playing experience. So, while many were upset that the team went out and signed Folin, it’s likely that Folin will man that extra defenseman role instead.
  • The New York Rangers have been talked about as a potential third-team in any deal involving Erik Karlsson. The team has $23.7MM in cap room to work with and with the team in a quick rebuild, this would be the perfect time to add more picks or prospects to that effort. While the team might be open to acquiring Ryan Callahan from Tampa Bay, The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello (subscription required) writes that the team will not take on the contract of veteran Bobby Ryan, who still has four years at $7.25MM remaining on his deal. He writes that the Rangers don’t believe they will still be rebuilding in three or four years and being burdened by that deal down the road wouldn’t make any sense.

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