Anton Rodin

Montreal’s Holland, Carr Among Seven On Waivers

September 30, 2017 at 6:00 pm CDT | by Zach Leach Leave a Comment

While Saturday’s group heading to the waiver wire is not as large or containing as many noteworthy names as each of the last few days, it contains over 150 2016-17 NHL games played and a handful of players with some substantial NHL pedigree. The following seven players were placed on waivers today:

F Peter Holland, Montreal Canadiens
F Daniel Carr, Montreal Candiens
F Anton Rodin, Vancouver Canucks
F Nicolas Deslauriers, Buffalo Sabres
D Taylor Fedun, Buffalo Sabres
D Viktor Loov, New Jersey Devils
G Tom McCollum, Detroit Red Wings

The two biggest names on the list are the pair of Montreal Canadiens wingers. Carr, 25, has played in 58 games in the past season and a half with the Habs after signing with the team following a prolific collegiate career at Union College. While Carr only recorded nine points in his 33 2016-17 games, many expected him to take on a larger role this season. Instead, the Canadiens will try to send him down to the AHL to begin the new season. The more surprising decision may be Holland, who signed a two-year deal with Montreal as an unrestricted free agent this off-season. Granted, the reason the 26-year-old was able to sign such a deal was that he was first not qualified by the Arizona Coyotes, but Holland is still a veteran of 243 NHL games and showed promise with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2014 to 2016. Holland is in a very similar situation to Kenny Agostino, recently placed on waivers by the Boston Bruins after signing with the team this off-season. Both have shown ample ability on the ice, but have been unable to show the consistency of an NHL regular. Agostino cleared waivers and Holland may too, but there is some risk involved in this move by Montreal.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Vancouver Canucks

September 24, 2017 at 4:20 pm CDT | by Holger Stolzenberg Leave a Comment

Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Vancouver Canucks

Current Cap Hit: $73,012,499 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Brock Boeser (Two years remaining, $925K)
F Jake Virtanen (One year remaining, $894K)

Potential Bonuses

Boeser: $850K
Virtanen: $850K

Boeser is one of the Canucks hope for the future. The team’s 2015 first-round pick has been playing exceptionally well in camp and looks ready to take a major role on the team. After two years at the University of North Dakota, Boeser managed to play in nine games for Vancouver last year, putting up four goals and an assist in that span and averaged 2.78 shots per game as well. Virtanen, on the other hand is just trying to cement a starting role on the team. The sixth overall pick in the 2014 draft, Virtanen has been disappointing and has had trouble finding a role with the club, playing 55 games two years ago and then settling for just 10 games last year. A solid camp so far suggests, he might have turned it around as he looks to take his game to the next level.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Daniel Sedin ($7MM, UFA)
F Henrik Sedin ($7MM, UFA)
D Erik Gudbranson ($3.5MM, UFA)
F Thomas Vanek ($2MM, UFA)
F Sven Baertschi ($1.85MM, RFA)
D Troy Stecher ($925K, RFA)
F Markus Granlund ($900K, RFA)
F Alexander Burmistrov ($900K, RFA)
F Anton Rodin ($700K, UFA)
F Reid Boucher ($688K, RFA)
D Patrick Wiercioch ($625K, UFA)

On a positive note, there are many contracts that are set to expire next year, which could give the Canucks quite a bit of cap space. What the team will do with the Sedin brothers, long-time franchise players, is still up in the air. Rumors that they have no interest in going to a contender to finish out their careers suggest that they may choose to retire or sign up for a much shorter, much cheaper deal with Vancouver. While both have been leading the franchise, their numbers have begun to decline now that they are 36 years old with Daniel Sedin putting up just 15 goals and 44 points a year ago, while brother Henrik also just putting up 15 goals and 51 points.

There are very few potential unrestricted free agents that are critical to the team’s building of the future. While Gudbranson is just 25 years old, the team has shown a willingness to move on from the defenseman and has been talked about in trade rumors all offseason. The former third-overall pick in 2010 didn’t fare well in his first year in Vancouver, suffering a wrist injury and playing in only 30 games. The team may want to move on before they lose him. Vanek, signed late in the offseason, is also likely a trade chip at the trade deadline.

As for restricted free agents, the team still has high hopes that Baertschi will continue to improve. After struggling to break into the Calgary Flames starting unit, Vancouver picked him up and got 15 goals in 2015-16 and another 18 last year. The 24-year-old could easily wind up on the team’s second line and have a big year. Granlund, 24, is another youngster who stepped up a year ago, putting up 19 goals as a full-time starter. Stecher will also be a free agent. The 23-year-old undrafted free agent had a solid rookie season after coming to the Canucks from the University of North Dakota. He is penciled in as a first-line defender. The team also has high hopes they can turn around Burmistrov’s career. The former top-10 pick in 2010 was signed away from Arizona with the hopes he can fill a need in the bottom six.

Two Years Remaining

D Alexander Edler ($5MM, UFA)
D Michael Del Zotto ($3MM, UFA)
D Ben Hutton ($2.8MM, RFA)
G Anders Nilsson ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Derek Dorsett ($2.65MM, UFA)
F Brendan Gaunce ($750K, RFA)

Edler has been a solid defender and a franchise player, having played his entire career in Vancouver. He is still effective, but his offense has slowed down over the last few years as he has had 22 or less points in four of his last five years. The team will have to decide whether to keep the 31-year-old blueliner when his contract is up, but that will likely have more to do with how he plays over the next two years. As for Del Zotto, the team signed him away from Philadelphia this offseason to fill a hole in the defense. Whether or not he can stay healthy is another matter. Hutton continues to develop his offensive game, but has time to do that.

Nilsson was also signed this offseason to challenge for playing time in goal. The 27-year-old was a solid backup in Buffalo, but is hoping for more playing time in Vancouver. As for Gaunce, the 23-year-old has yet to establish himself. He played in 55 games last year, but no goals and five assists will not cut it.

Three Years Remaining

D Chris Tanev ($4.45MM, UFA)
G Jacob Markstrom ($3.67MM, UFA)
F Sam Gagner ($3.15MM, UFA)

Tanev, a stay-at-home defenseman is a solid presence on a weak defense. The 27-year-old has established himself as a great defensive player and is well worth the money he is getting. Markstrom must prove he can handle being a starter. He only played 27 games as a backup, but must now prove he can hold off Nilsson and show he can be a starter in this league. If not, then he is just an expensive backup. Gagner came over from Columbus where he had a solid season, including 18 goals and 50 points.

Four Or More Years Remaining

F Loui Eriksson ($6MM through 2021-22)
F Bo Horvat ($5.5MM through 2022-23)
F Brandon Sutter ($4.38MM through 2020-21)

The team is in good shape in that it has few bad contracts that it must deal with on the long-term. However, the team did hand Eriksson a six-year, $36MM deal a year ago as he was coming off a 30-goal season with the Boston Bruins. However, the deal doesn’t look as good after the 32-year-old put up 11 goals in 65 games one year later and the team still owes him quite a bit of money. Horvat, however, is one of the new wave of young stars for Vancouver as the 22-year-old put up a 20-goal, 52 points season a year ago. The team hopes an even bigger breakout may be coming in his third year. Sutter is another one who the team hopes can become more consistent. The 28-year-old wing had 17 goals and 17 assists last year, but injuries have kept him in and out of the lineup, depending on the year.

Buyouts

F Chris Higgins ($833K in 2017-18)

Retained Salary Transactions

G Roberto Luongo ($800K through 2021-22)
F Jannik Hansen ($500K in 2017-18)

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Tanev
Worst Value: Eriksson

Looking Ahead

The Canucks are in a position to build a solid roster after this season. The team should be able to make a big free-agent splash if it wants and begin to build a winner. What this teams seems to lack is young talent, especially on offense. Horvat and Boeser should be great and there are a few others, but the team seems to lack those top young players who will turn the franchise around. That’s because several of their first-rounds like Gaunce, Virtanen haven’t panned out yet, which leaves a gaping hole of talent on the roster. Nevertheless, the team did a solid job bringing in solid role players for reasonable and short deals, which should only make them stronger.

Oft-Injured Teams Likely To Rebound In 2017-18

August 8, 2017 at 6:13 pm CDT | by Seth Lawrence Leave a Comment

Every year, some teams invariably get the short straw when it comes to injury. The Washington Capitals, notably, were the healthiest team in the league, and ended up winning the Presidents’ Trophy. That said, organizational depth is absolutely vital, as the Penguins survived well enough to repeat championships, even though they were bottom-5 in man games lost. Ultimately, there are a few franchises that are merely anticipating a restart in 2017-18, in hopes of entirely forgetting the abuses of last season. These three teams are those which suffered the worst, and have a solid chance to rebound in the upcoming campaign.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Lightning lost Steven Stamkos for the majority of the season after he was diagnosed with a torn meniscus in November. He missed an astounding total of 65 games. Ryan Callahan was also lost for the majority of the year, losing 64 games of action to a lower-body injury. After that, the onslaught of injuries kept hammering away. Nikita Kucherov only lost 8 games, but was felled on three separate occasions. Ondrej Palat missed only 9 games as well, but his presence was sorely missed when absent. Cedric Paquette lost 23 games, while Tyler Johnson missed 16. It seemed that no one was safe on Tampa’s squad more man-games than an other teams when you factor in essentially retired players.

Tampa will look to remain healthy this season, after an incredibly unlucky venture in 2016-17. They have the depth to endure losses, but the sheer carnage last season was too catastrophic to overcome. Still, they finished only one point out of the final wild card spot. They could easily have squeaked into the playoffs and inflicted serious damage. This year, as long as the fates turn their way, they should be right back in the competitive mix.

Winnipeg Jets

Tyler Myers lost out on the bulk of the season, only playing in 11 contests. As a big component of the team’s defense, he will need to be back to peak performance if the Jets hope to stop some of the bleeding in their own end of the ice. Center Bryan Little lost 23 games to a lower-body injury, while Shawn Matthias missed 37 contests to an upper-body ailment. Not a single player survived the entire year without succumbing to some sort of injury or sickness, and the team as a whole struggled to find a consistent groove with so many bodies filling in and falling out.

The Jets need consistent goaltending and less obnoxiously aggressive defense if they hope to reach the post-season again. That said, simply remaining healthy will go a long way in transforming Winnipeg into a dangerous team. Mark Scheifele was absolutely dominant last season, and with reliable depth behind him, only good results lie ahead. The Central is also slightly less intimidating this year, even with Dallas making as many transactions as they did. Nashville and Chicago both took steps backward, the Blues remained relatively the same, while the Wild made lateral moves.

Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver will have a tough time entering the playoff conversation. In the relatively weak Pacific however, anything can happen. The Sedin twins are another year older, and GM Jim Benning hasn’t acquired any game-breakers in the off-season (Michael Del Zotto doesn’t count). Still, when a team loses over 300 man-games to injury in a year, things should theoretically improve the following year. Admittedly, some of their most heavily injured players were nominal players, like Derek Dorsett (68 lost) and Anton Rodin (79 lost). Still, they missed the presence of multiple depth players at a time and ultimately relied too heavily upon call-ups to crawl through the year. Jannik Hansen (39 lost), Chris Tanev (29 lost), and Erik Gudbranson (52 lost) are far from world-beaters, but on a team as thin at both offense and defense as the Canucks, their losses were unsustainable.

It remains to be seen how much of an impact general health will play for the Canucks. They still need their top players to find consistent production, and their younger players (Bo Horvat, Sven Baertschi) must continue to progress. That said, with a little luck, they might find themselves somewhere near the mix yet again. With new coach Travis Green and a fresh beginning, perhaps there is one more Wild Card berth left in a team that has been prolonging their inevitable full-on rebuild.

Minor Transactions: 7/1/17

July 1, 2017 at 2:11 pm CDT | by natebrown Leave a Comment

Some additional signings that happened today:

The Carolina Hurricanes added Brenden Kichton to a one-year, two-way contract. The Hurricanes announced that the deal is for $700K in the NHL and $235K in the AHL. Kichton played 63 games with the Manitoba Moose last season, recording 23 points (1-22). Dennis Robertson and Jeremy Smith also signed deals with the Hurricanes.
The Canucks inked Anton Rodin to a one-year, $700K deal according to Sportsnet. Rodin struggled with injury last year, playing only three games for Vancouver.
The Detroit Red Wings brought Luke Witkowski into the fold for a “toughness” aspect. Witkowski is a Michigan native and was added with a two-year, $1.4MM deal. Interestingly, it appears that he will shuffle between defense and forward for Detroit. Despite a glut of forwards, Detroit may want him to play the role that Steve Ott did last season, especially since it was Witkowski who broke Anthony Mantha’s finger in a scuffle last season while with Tampa Bay.
Winnipeg inked Michael Sgarbossa to a one-year, $650K deal. Last season, he was with both the Anaheim Ducks and Florida Panthers. The 24-year-old had a combined nine points (2-7) with both teams. The Jets also added Buddy Robinson with a one-year deal worth $650K. It’s a two-way contract.
Defenseman Seth Helgeson signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Islanders. The former New Jersey Devil played nine games with the big club last season, and spent 48 games with the AHL Albany Devils, scoring two goals and adding seven assists.
Patrik Nemeth re-upped with Dallas, agreeing to a one-year, $945K deal. Nemeth had three points last season with the Stars in 40 games. Brian Flynn also hammered out a deal with Dallas, agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract for $700K. Flynn spent last season with Montreal. Mike McKenna also signed on with the Stars, agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract. Dallas also agreed to terms with Brent Regner, who signed a one-year, two-way deal.
The Sabres signed Matt Tennyson to a two-year deal, with the first year being on a two-way contract while the second is a one-way deal. Tennyson spent last season with the Carolina Hurricanes, where he played 45 games. He had six assists. Seth Griffith and Adam Wilcox also inked deals with the Sabres. Griffith agreed to a one-year, $650K deal while Wilcox’s one-year deal is a
The Providence Journal’s Mark Divver reports that Jordan Szwarz signed a two-way deal with the Boston Bruins. Szwarz spent all of last season with the Providence Bruins, where he had 54 points (22-32) in 65 games.
Derek Grant is on the move according to Darren Dreger, agreeing to a one-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks for $650K. It’s a one-way contract for Grant, who spent the majority of his time last season with the Buffalo Sabres. He also saw six games with Nashville.
Montreal and Joe Morrow agreed to a one-year, one-way contract. Formerly with the Bruins, Morrow had one assist with the B’s, but only appeared in 17 games, as opposed to the 33 he saw a season prior.
Ottawa made a slew of signings, adding Ben Sexton Max Reinhart, Tyler Randell, Erik Burgdoerfer, and Danny Taylor to deals. Reinhart, Taylor and Randell all signed one-year deals, while Burgdoerfer and Sexton agreed to two-year deals.
Mat Bodie signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Bodie appeared in a combined 62 games for Rochester and Hartford of the AHL last season. The Bolts also added Alex Gallant with a one-year deal. Gallant spent last year with the San Jose Barracuda. Finally, Michael Leighton and Jamie McBain both agreed to one-year, two-way deal as well.
Kyle Rau and Minnesota came to terms on a one-year, $700K deal. Rau’s deal is a two-way deal and brings him back to his home state.
TSN’s Aaron Ward tweets that Paul Carey agreed to terms with the New York Rangers. Ward reports that the deal is for one-year, and is worth $650K. The Blueshirts also added Cole Schneider to a one-year, two-way contract.
The Flames brought Marek Hrivik aboard, signing him to a one-year, two-way deal. Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson tweets the move is for organizational depth. According to Fox Sports West’s Jon Rosen, the Flames have also signed their 2016 seventh-round pick Stepan Falkovsky to a three-year entry-level contract.
The Oilers signed Eddie Pasquale to a one-year, two-way deal. Pasquale was allowed to walk away from the Red Wings organization. Another player signed away from the Red Wings organization was Mitch Callahan, who agreed to a two-year, two-way deal. Both were reported by Ryan Rishaug. Keegan Lowe also inked a one-year, two-way deal. The Oilers weren’t done, also adding Ryan Stanton with a $700k deal. The deal is for two years, and is a two-way contract. Edmonton also inked forwards Brian Ferlin, Grayson Downing and Ty Rattie to one-year deals.
Nashville agreed to terms with Pierre-Cedric Labrie, who came from the Blackhawks organization. Labrie agreed to a one-year, two-way contract. The deal is worth $650K.
The Stanley Cup Champion Penguins added some names today, all on one-year deals. Jarred Tinordi, Zach Trotman and Greg McKegg all agreed to a single-year deal. Chris Summers signed on for a two-year deal. In an additional release, the team has re-signed Tom Sestito, Frank Corrado to one-year two-way deals, and goaltender Casey DeSmith to a two-year two-way deal. All three will earn $650K in the NHL.
The Sharks and goalie Antoine Bibeau signed off on a one-year, two-way deal. Bibeau was not offered a qualifying deal with his former team in Toronto.
The Maple Leafs weren’t done, as they announced the signings of Colin Greening to a one-year deal (two-way, $750K), and Chris Mueller (two-way, $650K) and Vincent LoVerde (two-way, $725K) to two-year deals.
The Winnipeg Jets have signed defenseman Cameron Schilling to a one-year, two-way contract. Schilling was with the Rockford IceHogs and Ontario Reign last season, where he scored 26 points.
The Colorado Avalanche have signed three more players, inking Andrew Agozzino and David Warsofsky to two-year deals while bringing in Joe Cannata for just one season.
Arizona has signed Zac Rinaldo, Michael Sislo, Andrew Campbell and Joel Hanley to one-year two-way contracts. It’s a fall for Rinaldo, who was once traded for a third-round pick.
Chase Balisy, Connor Brickley, Reece Scarlett, Harri Sateri and Curtis Valk have all signed one-year contracts with the Florida Panthers. Interestingly, Brickley was the Vegas Golden Knights’ selection from the Hurricanes during the expansion draft but was a Group VI free agent this summer.
The Devils have added Brian Strait, Bracken Kearns and Brian Gibbons on one-year two-way deals, bringing in the veterans for $650K at the NHL level.
The Vegas Golden Knights have signed six players. They have signed forward T.J. Tynan and defenseman Brad Hunt to two-year deals at $650,000 per season. They inked forward Paul Thompson, forward Stefan Matteau, defenseman Chris Casto and goalie Maxime Lagace to one-year contracts at $650,000.

Anton Rodin Undergoes Knee Surgery, Out Six Months

February 7, 2017 at 5:24 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 1 Comment

After being shut down earlier in January because he re-injured his knee, Vancouver Canucks forward Anton Rodin underwent successful surgery today to repair it, but will be out for at least six months. He should be ready for the start of the 2018 season, though he’s still a long way from knowing for certain.

Rodin has had a nightmare season in his first year back from Sweden. After scoring 37 points in 35 games for Brynas last season in his home country, he returned to North America to try to make an impact for the Canucks. He has only played in three games for the NHL club this season, adding another three down with the Utica Comets of the AHL. Injury has stolen basically his entire year, as he’ll now miss the remainder of the season.

The 26-year old winger signed a one-year deal with the Canucks for $950,000 which they could now move to LTIR to get a little additional cap relief if they needed. He’ll still be a restricted free agent this offseason, but it is still to be seen if he decides to stay in North America. After being drafted in the second round in 2009, he has only played two seasons in the AHL before this. He made his NHL debut for the team this season.

Injury Updates: Hutton, Rodin, Cullen, Dumoulin, MacArthur

January 17, 2017 at 3:24 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

The Vancouver Canucks will be without the services of defenseman Ben Hutton for the next three-to-six weeks, the team announced (Twitter link). He’s dealing with a small fracture in his hand and has been out of the lineup since January 8th.

This season, his second NHL campaign, the 23 year old has played in 41 games, recording 11 points (4-7-11). He also ranks third on the team in ice time per night at just under 21 minutes per game.

This will place further strain on a Vancouver back end that is already missing Erik Gudbranson (wrist) and Philip Larsen (head).

Still with the Canucks, the team also provided an update via Twitter on winger Anton Rodin. Two weeks ago against the Flames, he re-aggravated the same knee that was surgically repaired last January. The team has decided to shut him down and give him a period of rest before beginning his rehab. He’s set to undergo an MRI later this week. Rodin, who signed a one year deal for this season back in March, has suited up in just three games this season.

[Related: Canucks Depth Chart]

Other injury news from around the league:

The Pittsburgh Penguins will be without center Matt Cullen for the next three-to-four weeks, notes Michelle Crechiolo on their team website. Cullen sustained a foot injury while blocking a shot in last night’s wild 8-7 overtime victory against the Capitals. The 40 year old has played in all 43 games this season, tallying eight goals and nine assists. Earlier this month, he suggested that he might not retire after the season, citing the fact he has been able to remain healthy as one of the reasons for potentially sticking around.
Still from Crechiolo, defenseman Brian Dumoulin joined the team for practice today in a non-contact jersey and a full face shield. He has been out of the lineup since late December after suffering a broken jaw. He’s on long-term injury reserve after the original diagnosis had him missing four to six weeks. As a result, he must miss at least ten games and 24 days before he can be activated.
While the Senators were hoping that left winger Clarke MacArthur would be able to accompany the team on their three game road trip, he was left behind to undergo further testing, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports. He has yet to play this season as he continues to deal with concussion problems. Head coach Guy Boucher didn’t seem particularly bullish on him being able to return in the near future as he suggested it’s not just a matter of when he will be able to return but also if he will be able to.

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