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Free Agent Market Quiet For Veteran Defensemen

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Over one hundred free agents have signed a contract with a new team already this off-season. Of that group, just three of those signings are defenseman over the age of 30: the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Jack Johnson, the Vegas Golden Knights’ Nick Holden, and the Dallas Stars’ Roman Polak. While veteran goaltenders and forwards continue to garner major interest on the open market and land substantial contracts, it seems defenders of the same age and experience are not being valued similarly across the league. With the NHL trending more toward a speed and finesse game, older blue liners who depend on positional awareness and seasoned checking ability may no longer be able to compete for jobs with younger players at the position with fresh legs and an open mind.

Of PHR’s Top 50 NHL Unrestricted Free Agents, only nine remain unsigned. Two of those nine players – Rick Nash and Kris Versteeg – may not return to playing pro hockey. Of the seven remaining players, three are defenseman over the age of 30: Dan Hamhuis (#24), Toby Enstrom (#37), and Alexei Emelin (#42).  Good veteran defensemen are out there and make up some of the best available players, but are simply not drawing the interest that was expected. Other unsigned names include Brooks Orpik, Johnny Oduya, Kevin Bieksa, Dennis Seidenberg, Kyle Quincey, Paul Martin, Josh Gorges, and Jason Garrison, none of whom have made considerable noise on the rumor mill. 32-year-old Taylor Chorney even moved on to Switzerland due to a stagnant market for older defensemen.

Will several of these names sign an NHL contract prior to next season? Yes, however it’s unlikely that the majority will find meaningful employment if they haven’t already at this point in the summer. Of the remaining names, the most likely to land jobs are those closer to 30 without as much wear and tear on their bodies. The three players who have already found jobs – Johnson, Holden, and Polak – are all 32 or under. Emelin and Quincey at 32 have good odds, as do Enstrom and Gorges at 33. It would also be a major surprise if 35-year-old Hamhuis went unsigned. However, it would not be a shock to see only those five land a deal. This is a free agent market saturated in experienced, capable veteran defensemen, but few who can keep up with the NHL’s current pace of play. As a result, the supply greatly outweighs the demand and the free agent market for older blue liners could continue to remain quiet.

Poll: What Kind Of Extension Is Predators’ Ryan Ellis Worth?

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With top defensemen getting locked up to big, long-term deals everywhere, one only has to look around the league to see who is next. The most obvious target would be Nashville’s Ryan Ellis, who will be wrapping up the final year of his five-year, $12.5MM deal. Ellis, who is one of the core of Nashville’s talented back end, is one of the most underpaid blueliners in the league at $2.5MM AAV, should be in line for a great extension. After all, many of his defensive teammates are already well-paid, including P.K. Subban ($9MM for four more years), Roman Josi ($4MM for two more years), and Mattias Ekholm ($3.75MM for four more years).

Nashville claims that locking up the 27 year old is the team’s top priority this offseason. Yet little has happened. However, how much is he worth, asks Adam Vingan of the Tennessean? While two of the most significant extensions went to Los Angeles’ Kings Drew Doughty (eight years, $11MM AAV) and Arizona Coyotes’ Oliver Ekman-Larsson (eight years, $8.25MM AAV), Ellis likely doesn’t fit into that category. Therefore, Vingan writes that Nashville must compare Ellis’ play with several other tiers of defenseman that have recently signed new deals. The most likely comparables for Ellis will come down to the recent contracts signed by Washington Capitals’ John Carlson (eight years, $8MM AAV) and Tampa Bay Lightning’s Ryan McDonagh (eight years, $6.75MM AAV). However is he as good as those two?

The next tier would be contracts handed out a few years ago that could compare, such as Pittsburgh Penguins’ Kris Letang (eight years, $7.25MM AAV), Erik Johnson (seven years, $6MM AAV) and Anaheim Ducks’ Cam Fowler (eight years, $6.5MM AAV). Ellis’ stats are challenging to look when attempting to compare to any of those defensemen. Offensively, he’s never put up 40 points in a season yet, coming close once with 38 points (16 of those were goals). However, after missing the first half of this past season after undergoing knee surgery in the offseason, Ellis’ stats took a jump when he put up 32 points in 44 games, suggesting that his offense is starting to emerge. With his defense never under question, the Predators must come up with a number soon.

So what range should Ellis fall into?

How much should Nashville defenseman get on his next contract?
$6-8MM per year 54.71% (598 votes)
Less than $6MM per year 39.71% (434 votes)
More than $8MM per year 5.58% (61 votes)
Total Votes: 1,093

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Andrey Pedan Officially Signs In The KHL

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In a move that has been expected for a couple of months now, Penguins restricted free agent defenseman Andrey Pedan has officially signed in Russia, signing with Ak Bars Kazan per a team release (link in Russian).  The 25-year-old received a two-year contract.

Pedan was acquired by Pittsburgh in early October as part of the deal that sent blueliner Derrick Pouliot to Vancouver.  He’s the lone asset remaining from that trade as the fourth-round pick they also added was later flipped to Vegas as part of the three-team Derick Brassard swap.

He wound up spending the entire season at the minor league level where he had his best year statistically with nine goals and 17 assists in 52 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.  While he didn’t get into any NHL contests in 2017-18, he does have 13 games under his belt with Vancouver back in 2015-16.

The two-year term is particularly notable.  Pedan will be 26 at the end of the contract which means he will still be under team control so if he fares well, Pittsburgh could still bring him back in time for the 2020-21 season.

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Four Players

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed four players to two-way contracts, adding Stefan Elliott, Zach Trotman, Jimmy Hayes and goaltender John Muse on one-year, two-way deals worth the minimum $650K at the NHL level. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will be happy with the announcement, as none of the four are expected to make a huge impact in the NHL next season.

Hayes may be the most notable name, as a former regular for both the Florida Panthers and Boston Bruins. Once a 19-goal scorer, his career has dropped off a cliff over the last few years to the point of registering just nine points in 33 games for the New Jersey Devils last season after signing a professional tryout in the summer. Hayes, the older brother of New York Rangers forward Kevin Hayes, will try to find his game again in a system known for reclamation projects.

Trotman played in the Pittsburgh organization last season, and is re-signing after just a few hours of being an unrestricted free agent. The 27-year old actually suited up for three games in the NHL this past year, though did most of his work in the minor leagues. The big-bodied defenseman uses a long reach to effectively defend, but hasn’t really been able to establish himself at the highest level.

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Jack Johnson

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July 1: The Penguins have confirmed the signing, announcing a five-year contract worth $16.25MM.

June 27: Multiple reports including Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette have surfaced indicating that the Pittsburgh Penguins intend to sign Jack Johnson to a five-year contract on July 1st. The deal will be in the area of $16MM total, and would make sense given the recent reports of discussions between the two sides. Though they’re technically not allowed to exchange contract figures until Sunday, team often have deals worked out ahead of time—as seen by the flurry of announcements just after the free agent period opens.

This doesn’t guarantee that Johnson becomes a Penguin on July 1st, but it certainly gives him an offer that would be hard to top. The 31-year old defenseman has been open about his need for some financial stability given his public bankruptcy case, and a five-year deal would give him that. It would also provide the Penguins with another experienced skater that has been known to log huge minutes and contribute on the penalty kill.

Johnson has clearly started to decline on the ice, no longer the two-way powerplay quarterback he was in his youth. That offensive upside was squashed as he transitioned into a more shutdown role in Columbus, one that he relished for a time alongside David Savard. If he end up in Pittsburgh he could be given a very similar role, and allow some of the more offensively-minded defensemen to flourish a bit in some easier matchups. The question now is if he can handle that role, or if he would be at his best as a more rarely-used third pairing option and penalty killer. Johnson hasn’t put up good possession statistics in several years, and was eventually scratched by the Blue Jackets down the stretch and through their playoff series.

For $3MM, or something around it, the Penguins would need a strong contribution. Just today they disposed of Matt Hunwick’s $2.25MM cap hit because he didn’t fit into the system, and a five-year commitment to Johnson brings even more risk. Granted, Hunwick was not a third-overall pick that has logged 788 relatively successful games in the NHL, but it’s easy to see how the situation could devolve into something similar a few years down the road.

Luckily for Pittsburgh, GM Jim Rutherford has proven time and again how he can wiggle his way out of contract and cap problems. With today’s trade of Hunwick and Conor Sheary being the latest example, Rutherford has positioned his team as real Cup contenders every year since taking the job in 2014. A commitment to Johnson may be risky, but it also could pay off if he can find a higher gear like so many other defensemen have in Pittsburgh over the last few years.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Matt Cullen Returning To Pittsburgh Penguins On One-Year Deal

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The Pittsburgh Penguins tried hard to bring Matt Cullen back in 2017-18 after consecutive Stanley Cups, but lost out on him to the Minnesota Wild. That won’t be the case this season, as Cullen is heading back to the Penguins on a one-year contract worth a league minimum $650K.

Cullen, who spent two years with the Pittsburgh Penguins and coincidentally coincide with their two Stanley Cup Championships, left the Penguins after the 2016-17 season and opted to sign with the Minnesota Wild, his hometown team. While he fared reasonably well in a fourth-line role with the Wild, the 41-year-old center was still deciding if he was willing to go through the rigors of another season.

He ended up putting up 11 goals and 11 assists for Minnesota, which is less production than his two years in Pittsburgh. However, the main reason Pittsburgh is bringing Cullen back is for his leadership as well as providing extra center depth for the team.

Josh Jooris Signs With Toronto Maple Leafs

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed Josh Jooris to a one-year, $650K contract according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

The 27-year-old winger has bounced around the league his entire NHL career as he has already played for the Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, Arizona Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes and Pittsburgh Penguins and will now add Toronto to his jersey collection. After signing with the Hurricanes one year ago, he managed to play in 31 games, putting up three goals and six points, but Carolina traded him to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline for the Penguins playoff run, but had little impact for them. He played nine games for the Penguins, without tallying a point and did not play in the playoffs.

He will battle it out in training camp for a potential bottom-line role, but could just as easily be used to stockpile talent for the Calder Cup Champion Toronto Marlies in the AHL.

Chicago Blackhawks Sign Chris Kunitz, Cam Ward, Brandon Manning

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The Chicago Blackhawks have signed three players immediately after free agency began, inking Chris Kunitz, Cam Ward and Brandon Manning. Kunitz and Ward will get one-year deals, while Manning has signed a two-year contract. Ward’s deal will pay $3MM and include a full no-trade clause.

Kunitz, who spent last season with Tampa Bay Lightning on their shutdown line, provides the Blackhawks with a veteran defensive presence, who still seems to be successful even at age 38. He, along with Ryan Callahan and Cedric Paquette, were responsible for shutting down teams’ top lines and were quite successful at it. The line was also adept at scoring as well as Kunitz scored 13 goals and totaled 29 points last season with Tampa Bay. The veteran also has lots of playoff success with his time with the Pittsburgh Penguins as he played for the franchise for nine years, winning three Stanley Cup titles.

Ward was less of a secret as the team had been rumored to be close to a deal with him for a few days already. The 13-year veteran, who played all his years in Carolina, moved into a backup role last year as he helped mentor former Blackhawk Scott Darling. However, despite that role, he still managed to play 43 games for the Hurricanes. The 34-year-old didn’t thrive as he finished with a 2.73 GAA and a .906 save percentage, but his experience and ability to handle a big load was critical for the Blackhawks who struggled after starter Corey Crawford went down for the season with a head injury in December last year. The team attempted to move forward with Anton Forsberg and Jeff Glass as their two goaltenders, but couldn’t make that work. Ward should provide more stability for the Blackhawks now.

Manning adds more defensive depth for the Blackhawks as the former Philadelphia Flyers defenseman has continued to increase his production over the course of his career as he scored seven goals and 19 points last season in 65 games and even played a more safety-conscious game this past season. However, his numbers also indicate that he’s just an adequate defender and is likely to fill the team’s need for bottom-six defenders.

Penguins Not Shopping Tristan Jarry But Are Open To Moving Him

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  • The Penguins are open to dealing RFA goaltender Tristan Jarry, TSN’s Darren Dreger noted in an appearance on TSN 690 (audio link). The 23-year-old is believed by some to have starter upside but with Matt Murray in the fold ahead of him, that opportunity isn’t likely to come in Pittsburgh.  This doesn’t appear to be a situation where the team is shopping him but if a team decides to ignore the veteran free agent options out there in the hopes of acquiring someone that could fit for the longer-term, Jarry would be one player to watch for.
  • Former Wild GM Chuck Fletcher has joined the Devils as the team announced that he has been hired as a senior advisor to GM Ray Shero. This won’t be the first time the two work together as Fletcher was Shero’s assistant GM for three years with the Penguins from 2006-07 to 2008-09.

Free Agent Focus: Pittsburgh Penguins

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Free agency is now just days 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. Here is a breakdown of Pittsburgh’s free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agent: D Jamie Oleksiak – After locking up winger Bryan Rust earlier, Oleksiak is the lone remaining NHL RFA that the Penguins have.  The 25-year-old started out 2017-18 the same way his last couple of years had gone with Dallas – he was in and out of the lineup and wasn’t getting a lot of playing time when he did get to play.

His fortunes certainly changed for the better back in December when Pittsburgh acquired him for a conditional 2019 fourth-round draft pick.  He found a home as a regular on the third pairing and his performance picked up as a result.  He’s eligible for salary arbitration this summer but it’s more likely that they settle on a one-year pact that checks in a little bit above Oleksiak’s $1MM qualifying offer.

Other RFAs: F Teddy Blueger, F Thomas Di Pauli, G Tristan Jarry, D Andrey Pedan, D Ethan Prow

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Tom Kuhnhackl – The German checker was a bit of a surprise non-qualifier after playing a regular role this past season.  It later came out that he had rejected a two-year offer from the team, presumably at a rate close to his $726K qualifying offer.  The 26-year-old will now hit the open market in the hopes of finding another team willing to give him a spot on their fourth line.

F Carter Rowney – After being a regular for a big chunk of Pittsburgh’s 2017 Stanley Cup run, it didn’t result in a lot of playing time for Rowney in 2017-18.  He played in just over half of their games, predominantly on the fourth line.  The 29-year-old at least offers some positional versatility in that he can play both center and the wing which should help his cause as he looks to catch on elsewhere.

Other UFAs: D Frank Corrado, F Vincent Dunn, F Josh Jooris, G Michael Leighton, F Tom Sestito, D Jarred Tinordi, D Zach Trotman

Projected Cap Space: After clearing out Conor Sheary and Matt Hunwick, the Penguins used a good chunk of those savings to bring back Riley Sheahan for $2.1MM.  That leaves them with a little over $8MM to work with, per CapFriendly.  It’s widely-anticipated that they will land defenseman Jack Johnson for around $3.2MM per year which gives them just under $5MM to work with.  Oleksiak will take up a small chunk of that while they need to add a forward or two to the roster as well.  They have enough space to work with to make a small addition in free agency but if they plan to make another splash, they will likely need to free up some more cap room to work with first.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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