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Trade Deadline Primer: New York Rangers

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We are now less than two weeks away from the NHL Trade Deadline and talks are heating up. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the New York Rangers.

The New York Rangers are a rebuilding team with a large assortment of promising, young pieces to build around. The team has been competitive this season, but is still a few pieces away from rounding out into a contender.

This is the description of a seller. The problem this poses to the Rangers: who are they supposed to sell? The roster is completely devoid of valuable impending free agents. Not one of New York’s UFA’s-to-be is at the top or even the middle of any buyer’s wish list. In a cap-strapped, expansion-affected, in-season trade market, the Rangers are also not going to make any major moves right now to shake up their roster or look to add those missing core pieces. The Rangers should be sellers; they simply have nothing to sell at this moment.

Record

16-15-4, .514, 6th in East Division

Deadline Status

Stand Pat (By Default)

Deadline Cap Space

$4.01MM in full-season space ($17.87MM at the deadline), 0/3 retention slots used, 44/50 contracts used per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2021: NYR 1st, BUF 3rd, NYR 3rd, OTT 4th, LAK 4th, NYR 4th, NYR 5th, NYR 6th, NYR 7th
2022: NYR 1st, NYR 2nd, NYR 3rd, NYR 4th, NYR 5th, NYR 6th, NYR 7th

Trade Chips

A warning for the following: the word “chips” should be taken with a grain of salt – and nothing is worse than chips without enough salt. The Rangers’ trade chips are either under-seasoned or old and stale. New York could deal the whole bag for the trade capital equivalent of 99 cents. There is nothing to see here.

The most recognizable rentals on the New York roster are veteran defensemen Jack Johnson and Brandon Smith, two of the most maligned defenders in the NHL in recent years. Johnson has already cleared waivers without any takers, while Smith’s $4.35MM contract means he is unlikely to move.

Phil Di Giuseppe is the Ranger’s lone impending free agent forward on the NHL roster and their best available rental. The 27-year-old winger has eight points in 25 games, which isn’t anything special, but puts him on a 26-point full-season pace – a good value at just $700K. Di Giuseppe may not be a household name, but he has nearly 200 NHL games to his credit as well. Contenders could do worse for a cheap depth rental.

As for players with some term on their contracts, the Rangers could listen on forwards Colin Blackwell and Kevin Rooney, defenseman Anthony Bitetto, or veteran goaltender Keith Kinkaid. However, they have to be wary of the Expansion Draft exposure requirements and the repercussions that moving any of these players would have. Especially at forward, where the team already dealt away Brendan Lemieux, moving another term forward is a shaky proposition.

Of course, the big name on the block in New York is defenseman Anthony DeAngelo. With more than enough talent to command a nice trade return on ability alone, the fact is that if a DeAngelo trade was going to happen, it likely would have already. Some teams are wary of his character concerns, while others are not comfortable with adding his $4.8MM cap hit to their 2021-22 payroll. Either way, DeAngelo seems likely to stay put in New York through the season until he can be used as Expansion Draft fodder and then bought out. DeAngelo is too good not to play in the NHL again, but it won’t be this year.

Others to Watch For: F Jonny Brodzinski ($700K, UFA), F Anthony Greco ($737.5K, 2022 UFA), F Patrick Newell ($792.5K, RFA), D Darren Raddysh ($700K, Group 6 UFA), D Mason Geertsen ($725K, 2022 UFA)

Team Needs

1) Draft Picks and Prospects – Read: Mid-to-late-round draft picks and C- or D-level prospects. Sorry, Rangers fans. This is not going to be an exciting deadline. This is the best you can hope for. Hold tight until the off-season and wait for GM Jeff Gorton to try to swing a blockbuster for a top-six center.

Free Agent Focus: San Jose Sharks

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With free agency now less than a month away, many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  While cap space remains an issue in San Jose, this is not the year that their free agents are likely to break them. The team does have a key restricted free agent to sign, but the team must decide what unrestricted free agents they want to bring back after a disappointing 2019-20.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Kevin Labanc – The only significant restricted free agent the team needs to sign is Labanc, who surprised quite a few people when he signed a one-year, $1MM bargain contract last offseason with many expecting he took a low deal with the assumption he would be rewarded with a long-term deal the following year. We’ll see if that’s the case, but Labanc’s production didn’t jump off the charts like many had hoped. In fact, the 24-year-old finished with a disappointing 2019-20 season, posting just 14 goals and 33 points in 70 games, significantly less than the 56 points he produced the previous year. What type of contract Labanc receives will be interesting to see, but the forward is still considered to be a significant piece to their core and must return to his 2018-19 form if the team hopes to improve on its dismal season last year.

F Antti Suomela – The Sharks are hoping to bring back the 26-year-old back as a potential fourth-line center, but the Finnish center spent most of his season in the press box in San Jose as the team’s extra forward. He managed to appear in 20 games with one goal and seven points, serving mainly as the team’s fourth-line center. With plenty of questions marks down the team’s middle, Suomela has every chance to prove he deserves a more significant role.

Other RFAs: F Jonathan Dahlen, F Jayden Halbgewachs, F Maxim Letunov, D Nicolas Meloche, D Jacob Middleton, D Jeremy Roy, G Andrew Shortridge, D Tony Sund, F Manuel Wiederer.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

F Joe Thornton – The Sharks have made it quite clear that if Thornton wants to return next season, he’s welcome to. So, the question isn’t whether the Sharks want him, but whether Thornton wants to return. The 41-year-old made it clear at the end of the season that he would like to have a chance to win a Stanley Cup before his career ends. That seems unlikely to happen, which could suggest that Thornton may be more interested in joining a legitimate cup candidate for 2020-21. He was hoping to be traded to a contender at the trade deadline, but the team wasn’t able to find the right trade partner. Regardless, with the questions up the middle, the Sharks wouldn’t mind bringing back their heart and soul of the team despite his declining production. He did remain healthy all season, but produced one of his lowest totals since his rookie campaign in Boston back in 1997-98 with just 31 points.

F Melker Karlsson – The long-time bottom-six forward could be looking for another team as the Sharks must decided whether Karlsson’s lack of numbers is worth holding onto. Solid on the penalty kill, Karlsson’s three-year $6MM contract is now up and it’s likely the team might be ready to move on from him after scoring just six goals last season, his lowest numbers ever. Even his hits saw a major decline. If they do bring him back, expect it to be at a much lower AAV.

G Aaron Dell – After two impressive years in net in San Jose, the next two seasons have been less impressive. It’s likely that Dell will be asked to move on as the team attempts to find a better tandem fit with Martin Jones now that they announced the will not buy him out. Dell got more appearances this year with a career-high 33, but a 3.01 GAA and a .907 save percentage wasn’t what the team was looking for while Jones’ struggled. Expect Dell to find a backup job elsewhere in the league.

Other UFAs: F Jonny Brodzinski, D Brandon Davidson, F Anthony Greco, F Stefan Noesen, D Dalton Prout.

Projected Cap Space

Unfortunately for the Sharks, the team doesn’t have some of the cap advantages that other lottery teams possess (or the lottery pick, for that matter). The team has about $67.4MM committed to just 16 players, so there isn’t too much money remaining for the team to fill the rest of its roster spots. Regardless, they will likely dip into the free-agency pool a little bit to bolster a depleted roster, but will most likely have to focus on improving their defense and adding a more reliable goaltender who take take some of the pressure off of Jones.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

The Unleashed 2020: Potential Group VI Unrestricted Free Agents

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Though most players have to wait until after their 27th birthday to become an unrestricted free agent, able to sign with any team in the league without compensation, there are a few other ways to get to the open market. Players that complete seven full seasons in the NHL are eligible for UFA status, as are restricted free agents that do not receive qualifying offers. There is another way however, offered to those players who don’t get a long opportunity in the NHL but have put in several years at the professional level: Group VI unrestricted free agency.

Earlier this month, CapFriendly compiled a complete list of players on track to become free agents early. To refresh your memory on how a player qualifies for Group VI free agency, they must meet three requirements:

  1. The player is 25 years or older (as of June 30th of the calendar year the contract is expiring).
  2. The player has completed 3 or more professional seasons – qualified by 11 or more professional games (for an 18/19 year old player), or 1 or more professional games (for a player aged 20 or older). This can include NHL, minor league, and European professional league seasons played while under an SPC.
  3. The player has played fewer than 80 NHL games, or 28 NHL games of 30 minutes or greater for a goaltender.

The entire list of players at risk can be found below, but make sure you check out CapFriendly for more detailed information on how they could avoid the designation this summer.

*Indicates that the player could still play in enough games this season to become ineligible for Group VI free agency

Anaheim Ducks

Andrew Poturalski
Justin Kloos

Arizona Coyotes

(none)

Boston Bruins

Ryan Fitzgerald

Buffalo Sabres

(none)

Calgary Flames

Ryan Lomberg
Rinat Valiev
Jon Gillies

Carolina Hurricanes

(none)

Chicago Blackhawks

(none)

Colorado Avalanche

Antoine Bibeau

Columbus Blue Jackets

Doyle Somerby

Dallas Stars

Gavin Bayreuther
Dillon Heatherington

Detroit Red Wings

(none)

Edmonton Oilers

Colby Cave*
Shane Starrett

Florida Panthers

Danick Martel
Jack Rodewald

Los Angeles Kings

(none)

Minnesota Wild

Carson Soucy

Montreal Canadiens

Laurent Dauphin
Gustav Olofsson

Nashville Predators

Michael McCarron*

New Jersey Devils

Brandon Baddock
Dakota Mermis

New York Islanders

Jordan Schmaltz

New York Rangers

Boo Nieves*
Vinni Lettieri
Danny O’Regan
Nick Ebert

Ottawa Senators

Morgan Klimchuk

Philadelphia Flyers

Reece Wilcox

Pittsburgh Penguins

Riley Barber
Thomas Di Pauli
Adam Johnson

San Jose Sharks

Anthony Greco

St. Louis Blues

Mackenzie MacEachern*
Andreas Borgman

Tampa Bay Lightning

Daniel Walcott
Patrick Sieloff
Spencer Martin

Toronto Maple Leafs

Kasimir Kaskisuo

Vancouver Canucks

Ashton Sautner

Vegas Golden Knights

Valentin Zykov
Oscar Dansk

Washington Capitals

Liam O’Brien
Colby Williams
Tyler Lewington

Winnipeg Jets

J.C. Lipon

Florida Panthers Acquire Danick Martel

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The Florida Panthers have completed a minor league trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning, acquiring Danick Martel in exchange for Anthony Greco. Both players will report to their respective new AHL organizations.

Martel, 25, has put together a solid season for the Syracuse Crunch, which doesn’t come as much of a surprise at this point. The undrafted forward was a star in junior and has scored in every season of professional hockey so far. Originally part of the Philadelphia Flyers organization, Martel scored at least 20 goals in each of his three years with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, a mark he looks poised to crack again this season.

That doesn’t mean he’ll help Florida’s NHL hopes however, as Martel has just 13 games of experience at the highest level and has yet to score a single goal. He’ll also become a group VI unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.

Greco meanwhile isn’t a much different case. The 26-year old was also an undrafted free agent signing, this time out of Ohio State University. The undersized winger has had excellent seasons in the AHL including a 30-goal, 59-point campaign in 2018-10, but has appeared in just a single NHL contest. He is also scheduled to become a group VI unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Minor Transactions: 09/28/19

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As teams finish their final week of preparation before the 2019-20 season, there will likely be several transactions around the league. Alongside of NHL camp cuts, there are recalls and reassignments for preseason action, AHL camp decisions, and even some teams at both levels still looking to fill out their rosters with a signing or two. As always, we’ll keep track of all those moves right here:

  • The same group of players recalled by the Nashville Predators yesterday to suit up for their preseason game have been returned: Rem Pitlick, Anthony Richard, Eeli Tolvanen, Yakov Trenin, Josh Wilkins, Alexandre Carrier, Jeremy Davies and Ken Appleby. However, the team added that Appleby has formally been released from his PTO contract. He will head to the Milwaukee Admirals with the rest of the group, but is now solely property of the AHL club.
  • The St. Louis Blues are already making standard recall transactions, although it’s unclear if the move is anything more than a personnel change for the preseason finale. The Blues announced that defenseman Jake Walman has been sent down to the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage, essentially being cut from training camp, but that forward Alexey Toropchenko has been recalled in his place. The first-year pro had been previously dismissed from camp, but will get another chance to impress the St. Louis brass.
  • From heir apparent to fifth string, goaltender Spencer Martin has had a tough year or so. Last off-season, the 2013 third-round pick looked like he might be in line for the backup role with the Colorado Avalanche. Instead, the Avs traded for Philipp Grubauer and signed Pavel Francouz. Martin sat behind Francouz, an AHL All-Star, all year and then was not extended a qualifying offer from Colorado. Martin signed as a UFA early this summer with the Tampa Bay Lightning, who at the time had only two goalies slotted above him on the depth chart. Since then, the Bolts have traded for Mike Condon and signed Curtis McElhinney. With Condon and Louis Domingue both established NHL veterans currently confined to the AHL, today’s move was inevitable, but still a tough blow for Martin. The 24-year-old was reassigned to the ECHL’s Orlando Solar Bears, the Syracuse Crunch announced. Another former top prospect, Zach Fucale, has also been sent down to Orlando. The duo will likely be relegated to the ECHL for much of the season, barring an injury or trade. It’s certainly not the future imagined for Martin just a few short years ago.
  • The Blue Jackets have recalled winger Eric Robinson from Cleveland (AHL), reports Aaron Portzline of The Athletic.  He has already been cut this preseason but is expected to suit up in their final exhibition game on Sunday before being sent back down.
  • The Florida Panthers announced that they have recalled forward Anthony Greco from the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL. The 25-year-old was cut from the NHL camp on Thursday, but may get a chance to prove himself again. Greco scored 59 goals over the past two seasons with Springfield, but has only made one NHL appearance so far.

Training Camp Cuts: 09/26/19

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Like always, we’ll keep you aware of all the training camp cuts right here. Keep checking back to see the updated list:

Anaheim Ducks (per team release)

F Alex Broadhurst (to San Diego, AHL)
D Hunter Drew (to San Diego, AHL)
D Zack Hayes (to San Diego, AHL)
F Justin Kloos (to San Diego, AHL)
F Jack Kopacka (to San Diego, AHL)
D Patrick Sieloff (to San Diego, AHL)
D Chris Wideman (to San Diego, AHL)
G Anthony Stolarz (to San Diego, AHL)

Boston Bruins (per team release)

F Ryan Fitzgerald (to Providence, AHL)
F Joona Koppanen (to Providence, AHL)
F Zach Senyshyn (to Providence, AHL)
F Pavel Shen (to Providence, AHL)
F Oskar Steen (to Providence, AHL)
D Jeremy Lauzon (to Providence, AHL)
D Urho Vaakanainen (to Providence, AHL)
G Kyle Keyser (to Providence, AHL)
F Paul Carey (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Brendan Gaunce (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Alexander Petrovic (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)

Buffalo Sabres (per team release)

F Dylan Cozens (to Lethbridge, WHL)

Carolina Hurricanes (per team release)

F Morgan Geekie (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Janne Kuokkanen (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Steven Lorentz (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Eetu Luostarinen (to Charlotte, AHL)
F Stelio Mattheos (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Jake Bean (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Kyle Wood (to Charlotte, AHL)
G Alex Nedeljkovic (to Charlotte, AHL)
D Jesper Sellgren (to Lulea HF, SHL)
F Ryan Suzuki (to Barrie, OHL)

Colorado Avalanche (per team release)

D Bowen Byram (to Vancouver, WHL)
F Martin Kaut (to Colorado, AHL)
F Sheldon Dries (to Colorado, AHL)
F Logan O’Connor (to Colorado, AHL)
F Michael Joly (to Colorado, AHL)
G Hunter Miska (to Colorado, AHL)
D Jacob MacDonald (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Dan Renouf (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)

Edmonton Oilers (per team release)

F Kailer Yamamoto (to Bakersfield, AHL)

Florida Panthers (per team release)

F Anthony Greco (to Springfield, AHL)
D Ian McCoshen (to Springfield, AHL)
G Chris Driedger (to Springfield, AHL)

Montreal Canadiens (per team release)

F Matthew Peca (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Phil Varone (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Dale Weise (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Karl Alzner (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
D Xavier Ouellet (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)

New York Rangers (per team release)

F Daniel O’Regan (to Hartford, AHL)

Ottawa Senators (per team release)

F Parker Kelly (to Belleville, AHL)
G Marcus Hogberg (to Belleville, AHL)
F Nick Paul (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)
F Jordan Szwarz (placed on waivers before AHL assignment)

Vegas Golden Knights (per Jesse Granger, The Athletic)

F Reid Duke (to Chicago, AHL)
D Dylan Coughlan (to Chicago, AHL)

Florida Panthers Sign Three Players

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Both Anthony Greco and Dominic Toninato decided not to file for arbitration earlier this month, but they won’t have to wait through a long contract negotiation. The pair of minor league forwards have both agreed to one-year, two-way contracts with the Panthers. According to PuckPedia, Jayce Hawryluk has also signed, accepting his two-way qualifying offer worth $874K at the NHL level.

Greco, 25, made his NHL debut last season for the Panthers while also putting up a career season in the minor leagues. The undrafted forward scored 30 goals and 59 points for the Springfield Thunderbirds, leading them in both categories. That kind of offensive production is more than anyone saw coming with Greco, who never cracked 23 points in a single season at Ohio State University where he played for four years.

Toninato is a bit of a different story. Originally selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2012, he also went the NCAA route for four years. After signing with the Colorado Avalanche however, he quickly made it to the NHL and suited up 37 times in 2017-18. Incredibly, Toninato was held to just two assists in those 37 NHL games and has just three points total over 39 contests. After a trade brought him to Florida it seems unlikely that he’ll get a real shot with the Panthers before proving himself in their minor league system.

That may not be the cast for Hawryluk, who will be battling for a roster spot right from the beginning of the season. The 23-year old played 42 games for the Panthers last season and recorded 12 points, establishing himself as a legitimate NHL option. Whenever he was in the minor leagues he dominated the competition, and looks about as ready as he’ll ever be for the big stage. The 32nd overall pick from 2014, Hawryluk has even more competition for the last few spots on the roster thanks to free agent additions like Brett Connolly and Noal Acciari pushing everyone down a peg.

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