Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Brad Marchand

Extension Candidates: 2017 Restricted Free Agents

at CDT | by 1 Comment

After Artemi Panarin signed a two-year extension earlier today that will pay him $6MM per season and take him right up to unrestricted free agency, the RFA pool for this summer got a little bit smaller. Other extensions that have already been signed include Aaron Ekblad (Eight years, $60MM), Jake Allen (Four years, $17.4MM) and Victor Hedman (Eight years, $63MM).

Even though these big names are already locked up long-term, there are a ton of other restricted free agents that will be negotiating extensions between now and July 1st. Here are a few big names who become RFAs this summer.

Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton: The former third-overall pick who once scored 192 points in 29 German junior-league games, has broken out this season with 31 points in 36 games. Already coming off a 50 point season, this 70 point pace puts him in elite territory up front.  Only 21 years old, the Oilers will be looking to lock him up long-term to ride shotgun with Connor McDavid well into their peak years.

Alex Galchenyuk, Montreal: Another third-overall pick who put up a 50+ point season a year ago, Galchenyuk was off to a brilliant start before going down with injury early this month. Because he’ll be out for another month at least, Galchenyuk won’t rush into a contract that may not be representative of his development. This one might head into the summer, but if he comes back strong perhaps the two sides can come together before what looks like a long playoff run.

David Pastrnak, Boston: Not quite the same situation faces Pastrnak, who before this year showed promise but hadn’t played a full season in the NHL. With 26 points already he’s about to set his career-high and has a chance at a 40-goal season.  Boston has a lot of money already tied up long-term in their forward group, with David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, David Backes and Brad Marchand all under contract through at least 2020-21. They may not be able to afford buying out UFA years this summer, meaning a one or two year pact is more likely.

Bruins Sign Jesse Gabrielle To Entry-Level Deal

at CDT | by 2 Comments

For those of you out there who dislike Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand (and time and again that has proven to be a majority of NHL fans), you’re about to see double. The Bruins announced today that they have inked prospect Jesse Gabrielle to an entry-level contract, and Gabrielle models his game off of none other than his future teammate.

Gabrielle was Boston’s 2015 fourth-round pick, thought to be a bit of a project player when selected from the WHL’s Regina Pats. Gabrielle was part of Bruins GM Don Sweeney’s first draft class, which included this season’s rookie revelation Brandon Carlo, recently-named World Juniors participants Jakub Zboril and Daniel Vladar of the Czech Republic and Zach Senyshyn and Jeremy Lauzon of Canada, Providence Bruins impact rookie Jake DeBrusk, Boston University star Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, and University of Wisconsin play-maker Cameron Hughes. However, Gabrielle has not let the immense amount of talent in his draft class overshadow his own ability.

When drafted by the Bruins, Gabrielle had put up just pedestrian numbers in parts of three WHL seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings and Regina Pats. His 70 points in 115 games wasn’t terrible, but the scrappy forward was known more for his great forechecking and gritty two-way play. Then, like idol Marchand, Gabrielle chose to put his full offensive ability on display last season. After an off-season trade to the Prince George Cougars, Gabrielle responded with 75 points and a team-best 40 goals in 72 games, as well as 101 penalty minutes. So far in 2016-17, he leads the team with both 19 goals and 31 points, as he continues to dominate the junior level in all facets of the game. Gabrielle even got to skate in three games with the AHL’s Providence Bruins at the tail-end of last season, and while he was unable to register a point, the hard-working winger showed that he could hold his own in the pros. At 6’0″ and 200 lbs., Gabrielle is bigger than Marchand, but plays the same agitating, elusive style that has made Marchand a fan favorite in Boston and hated throughout the rest of the league.

Now developing into a lethal combination of skill and grit, Gabrielle has been thrust into the forefront of Boston’s youth movement plans. Expect “Marchand Jr.” to get a shot at cracking the roster for the Bruins next fall, if he can beat out the plethora of top prospects in the Boston pipeline.

Atlantic Division Snapshots: Pastrnak, Sabres, Ryan

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Boston Bruins may be in the midst of a mediocre season but one bright spot, both today and for the future, has been the breakout performance of 20-year-old winger David Pastrnak. The Czech born forward has 18 goals in just 23 games to start the 2016-17 campaign, a figure which has already eclipsed his career-high by three. Pastrnak is playing out the final season of his ELC and presuming he’s able to continue to pile up the points, it’s certain he will cash in big this summer on a new contract, as Joe Haggerty of CSNNE writes.

Granted, it’s unlikely Pastrnak, who is also averaging better than a point-per-game, will be able to maintain his scoring pace throughout the season but his prolific start makes it easy to envision a 30-goal, 60-point campaign is a strong possibility. Haggerty speculates that if Pastrnak reaches those plateaus, he would be in line for a deal comparable to those awarded to Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Nathan MacKinnon, among others in recent seasons. That means the value of a multiyear arrangement could reach $6MM or more annually on a long-term deal, depending on how many free agent years Boston is able to secure.

While the Bruins would certainly be more than happy to lock up the services of a talented youngster like Pastrnak through his prime seasons at that price, there is what Haggerty considers a “nightmare scenario,” that could come into play. If Pastrnak continues filling the net consistently and posts a platform season similar to that which Vladimir Tarasenko posted in 2014-15 – 37 goals and 73 points – his price tag could go well beyond the $6MM – $6.5MM mark. Tarasenko inked an eight-year, $60MM pact with the Blues on the heels of his breakout campaign two years ago and that could represent a target for Pastrnak if his able to attain that level of offensive production. With the salary cap likely to remain at or near the $73MM mark, and after locking up winger Brad Marchand to a lucrative new deal earlier this year, the Bruins will have to hope they can get Pastrnak extended at a rate which better fits their long-term salary cap situation.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  • The Buffalo Sabres, led by sophomore Jack Eichel and buoyed by an owner willing to spend to improve his club, would certainly have to be considered a team on the rise in the Atlantic Division. While a postseason berth in 2016-17 might be a long shot at this point, the Sabres should begin to contend for the playoffs as soon as next season. However, as John Vogl of The Buffalo News notes, the situation today could be much different had the club done a better job of drafting in the early-to-mid-2000’s. Former first and second-round choices taken while Darcy Regier was the team’s GM listed by Vogl include: Marek Zagrapan, Philipp Gogulla, Dennis Persson and Drew Schiestel were all high draft picks chosen between 2005 and 2007 and none even played a single NHL game. Conversely, players the Sabres could have selected – Alec Martinez, James Neal and T.J. Oshie – have played key roles for contending teams. While it may be fun to play “what if,” with players the Sabres could have had, it’s also important to note that had the team experienced more success as a result of better drafting under Regier, Buffalo would likely not have franchise building blocks Rasmus Ristolainen, Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Alexander Nylander in the organization today.
  • The return of Bobby Ryan and the play of several of Ottawa’s younger forwards has allowed first-year GM Pierre Dorion to resist temptation and stay the course with the team’s current roster, writes Ken Warren of the Ottawa Sun. It would have been understandable if Dorion had looked to make a deal to add some extra offense with Ryan out with a hand injury but the veteran scoring winger missed only three games. Dorion admitted he made some calls in the aftermath of the Ryan injury and while he will continue to look at different avenues to improve his club, there is no immediate pressure to make a trade.

Atlantic Division Snapshots: Vasilevskiy, Bruins, Leafs

at CDT | by 1 Comment

When the Tampa Bay Lightning inked Andrei Vasilevskiy to a three-year contract extension this summer, a deal that doesn’t go into effect until the 2017-18 season, it appeared as if the organization was committed to the Russian net minder as its future number one goalie. With Ben Bishop set to hit free agency next July, the idea was to give Vasilevskiy about 35 starts this season to be sure he was ready to assume the load as a starter. After eight starts this season, it’s becoming clear to all that the 22-year-old is most definitely ready to be the man for the Lightning, writes Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.

Vasilevskiy is 6 – 1 – 1 on the season and has a GAA of just 1.50 and a Save % of 0.951 in eight appearances. His hot start comes on the heels of helping the Lightning make it to game seven of the Eastern Conference Final against Pittsburgh last season after Bishop was injured. Vasilevskiy was solid in the postseason, stopping 0.925% of the shots he faced in eight games.

Assuming Vasilevskiy continues to develop into a quality starting option, his extension, which calls for an AAV of just $3.5MM, will prove to be a tremendous bargain for a team that already has a lot of its cap space tied up in long-term deals.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic Division:

  •  The Boston Bruins have long been thought to be in the market for a top-four blue liner, with Kevin Shattenkirk being one name linked to the team. However, given the team’s recent offensive struggles, Bruins management may want to reconsider their plans. Joe Haggerty, of CSNNE, reports that both the players and the coaches are becoming frustrated with the team’s lackluster goal scoring. David Pastrnak, the team’s gifted 20-year-old sniper, leads the team with 12 goals in just 16 games. Brad Marchand, currently out with a lower-body-injury, is second with six tallies while fourth-line pivot Dominic Moore ranks third on the club with five markers. Overall the Bruins rank 25th in the NHL, averaging just 2.3 goals-per-game. However, defenseman Torey Krug is confident the goals will come given the team finished fifth in the league last season in scoring: “When you see other teams get lucky bounces here and there – in Ottawa they’re shooting the puck wide and it goes off one of our guys and in, or in Minnesota the same thing happens – and we find ourselves not getting those bounces, then it starts to get frustrating when you’re getting good looks like we have been. Every team goes through these little lulls and we’ll work our way out of it. Hopefully it’s sooner rather than later.”
  • While the Toronto Maple Leafs are certainly a fun team to watch, bouyed by a talented young core of forwards, veteran head coach Mike Babcock knows defense wins championships. Ian Shantz of the Toronto Sun writes that Babcock is asking more from his blue liners as the team battles to stay relevant in the postseason race. Babcock singles out Morgan Rielly as the guy he wants to see play like a #1 defender: “We need (Morgan) Rielly to be our No. 1 guy. We need him to be very good for us, and that’s not racing around the rink. That’s playing without the puck.” The Leafs do have some talent on the back end but it’s likely that if they are buyers at the trade deadline that the blue line is the one area the team will look to improve.

Bruins Notes: Chara, Pastrnak, Miller

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Boston Bruins are off to a solid 11-8-0 start to the year, and much of the success has to be attributed to the tight defensive hockey the team is playing. That might take a hit over the next two games, as the team has officially announced that Zdeno Chara will miss tomorrow’s game against the Ottawa Senators, and is questionable for Friday’s matchup. Without Chara, the Bruins’ and their 6th place ranking with 44 goals against is in jeopardy. Even at his advanced age (39), the Solvakian defender is a monster on the ice, limiting goal opportunities and dominating puck battles.

  • The team will get David Pastrnak back though, in a hope that his added offense will equal out the defensive loss. The Bruins’ leading goal scorer this season was out for two games this weekend before returning to practice today.  Skating alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, the former first-round pick has 10 goals in 14 games, on pace to shatter his career-high of 15. At just 20-years old Pastrnak looks like he’s developing into a top-line winger, capable of skating opposite Marchand for many years. Coach Claude Julien says he’s likely to play “unless there’s a setback tomorrow”.
  • Kevan Miller was also cleared to return to practice today, and took a regular turn alongside Joe Morrow among Boston’s defense pairings. While Julien wouldn’t say whether Miller would get back into the lineup, his return obviously lines up fairly well with Chara’s absence. “We’re going to have some decisions to make before tomorrow’s game” is all the coach would say. Miller has yet to suit up for a game this year after breaking his left hand and needing surgery prior to the season opener. The 29-year old played in 71 games for the club a season ago, notching 18 points and 53 penalty minutes.

Injury Notes: Hammond, Letang, Pietrangelo

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After dealing for Mike Condon today to give himself some insurance, Ottawa Senators’ GM Peter Dorion says that Andrew Hammond is out for at least another week dealing with a groin injury. Hammond was placed on injured reserve last week.

While Hammond is out with a known injury, Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen reports that the Craig Anderson situation is “very fluid”, meaning the goaltender may miss additional time during the year. Condon will fly to meet the Senators in Ottawa for tomorrow’s game against the Canucks.

Morning Snapshots: Backes, Trouba, Rantanen, Boychuk

at CDT | by 1 Comment

Former Blues captain David Backes inked one of the richest deals of the offseason when he left the mid-west to join the Boston Bruins on a five-year, $30MM deal. While Backes is an excellent two-way player, many criticized the length of the contract given to the 32-year-old C/RW. However, teams today seem to realize that is an inherent risk of free agency and generally hope to see surplus value in the earlier years of the pact.

Backes is only four games into his Bruins career yet the early returns are solid – two goals and three points. But as the Boston Globe’s Fluto Shinzawa writes, the biggest benefit of the Backes addition may be in how it’s allowed bench boss Claude Julien to balance out his lines to better take advantage of the skill-sets of his other forwards.

With Patrice Bergeron back in the lineup, he joins Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak on the Bruins top line. Backes, meanwhile, is slotted in as the second line RW with rookie Danton Heinen on the left of veteran pivot David Krejci. The left-handed Heinen and right-handed Backes  give Krejci two wings who play on their strong side and allow the gifted center to deliver passes to his linemates’ forehands. As Shinzawa notes, Krejci has had some of his best seasons when he’s “had a right-hand strongman clearing space on his wing.” In past years, Nathan Horton, Jarome Iginla and Blake Wheeler have provided Krejci with just that and now he has Backes.

More from around the NHL:

  • The Jacob Trouba saga in Winnipeg appears no closer to a resolution, as ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun writes. Trouba and his agent, Kurt Overhardt, recently made public the defenseman’s request to be traded citing a desire to play top-four minutes on his natural, right side. With Tyler Myers and Dustin Byfuglien under contract with the Jets for at least the next three years, that opportunity didn’t appear to be in Winnipeg. For their part, the Jets have understandably placed a high price tag on Trouba, rumored to be a left-handed defenseman of comparable age and talent to the former first-round draft choice. According to LeBrun, the club hasn’t received an offer to their liking and are prepared to wait it out until they do. There is a hard deadline of December 1st; if Trouba is not under contract at that point he won’t be eligible to play this season.
  • The Colorado Avalanche appear poised to recall prospect Mikko Rantanen next week from San Antonio of the AHL, writes Mike Chambers of The Denver Post. Rantanen has been with the Rampage since the start of the season in what has effectively been a conditioning assignment as he works his way back from an ankle injury suffered during training camp. The Avalanche used their first-round selection in the 2015 draft to select Rantanen and the Finnish forward debuted in the NHL in 2015-16, appearing in nine games for the Avalanche. Chambers speculates the team will make room on their 23-man roster by placing veteran center John Mitchell on IR or by sending Gabriel Bourque or Ben Smith to San Antonio.
  • Zach Boychuk, who has appeared in 127 NHL games over parts of seven seasons with Carolina, Pittsburgh and Nashville, has inked a pact of HC Sibir of the KHL according to this link, re-tweeted by Cap Friendly (original link in Russian). Boychuk was chosen in the first-round of the 2008 draft by Carolina and has scored 12 goals and 30 points during his NHL career. He has had more success in the minors, once tallying 36 goals and 74 points while playing for Charlotte of the AHL during the 2013-14 campaign.

Bruins Sign Brad Marchand To Long-Term Extension

at CDT | by 3 Comments

It’s been a great week for Brad Marchand.

He’s playing on Canada’s top line at the World Cup, and now the Boston Bruins forward has some contract security.

According to TSN’s Bob McKenzie, Marchand has signed an 8-year, $49MM extension. That works out to $6.125MM per season, a notable increase from Marchand’s current AAV of $4.5MM.

ESPN’s Craig Custance reports Marchand will have a full no-move for the first five seasons on the deal, before changing to a limited no-trade clause. As well, $24MM of the contract is paid via signing bonuses, according to CapFriendly.

Contract-wise, recent comparable players include Mark Scheifele, Sean Monahan, Nathan MacKinnon, Milan Lucic, Andrew Ladd, and Kyle Okposo. Marchand is entering the prime of his career, and looks to live up to his new deal.

Marchand scored 37 goals and 61 points in 77 games last season, playing on the Bruins top line with Patrice Bergeron and now former-Bruin Loui Eriksson.

 

Atlantic Division Notes: Lupul, Marchand, Galchenyuk

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

TSN’s Frank Seravelli reports that Joffrey Lupul is rumored to have failed his pre-season physical and expects to start the NHL season on injured reserve. The oft-injured Maple Leafs forward only played in 46 games last year, scoring 11 goals and 3 assists.

Lupul has faced a variety of injuries in his career, but none more severe than his back issues which have sidelined him for significant periods of time. When healthy, Lupul is an excellent contributor, but his repeated injuries often derail successful campaigns.

Lupul began his Maple Leafs career with a bang, netting 45 goals and 105 points in his first 110 contests spread out over parts of three seasons in Toronto after a 2011 deadline trade with Anaheim. His strong play led to a massive five-year contract extension worth $26.25MM in total despite the fact the skilled forward had seen action in no more than 66 games in a single season since 2008-09. Unfortunately for both parties, Lupul has missed nearly a full season’s worth of games (76 in total) since inking that extension and has produced just 0.46 points-per-game during that time.

The Maple Leafs are currently over the cap by $827K, but moving Lupul to LTIR will free up $5.25MM in space. Assuming Stephane Robidas also starts the season on LTIR, the Leafs go from slightly over the cap to over $8MM under the cap. The Leafs will have the option of freeing up additional space by placing Nathan Horton on LTIR as well, which would further lower their overall cap commitment to around $60MM.

Lupul was originally the seventh overall pick in the 2002 NHL entry draft, chosen by the Anaheim Ducks. Ironically, he has twice been included in trades involving Chris Pronger, first going from Anaheim to the Oilers in exchange for the Hall of Fame defenseman, then returning to the Ducks as part of a package that saw Pronger head to Philadelphia. Toronto would acquire Lupul and Jake Gardiner from Anaheim as part of a trade for veteran blue liner Francois Beauchemin.

More from the Atlantic Division:

  • Joe Haggerty joined local Boston sports talk show, Toucher and Rich, and discussed Brad Marchand’s pending free agency. Marchand, of course, ranked 6th in the NHL in goals scored in 2015-16, tallying a career high 37. He is currently playing on what many consider to be the best line in the World Cup, skating on the left of all-world pivot Sidney Crosby with Bruins teammate Patrice Bergeron on the right. Haggerty opines that the Bruins need to lock up the agitating winger before he hits the free agent market, suggesting it will take a seven-year contract with an AAV of $7MM per season. He also listed the Penguins as a potential suitor should Marchand make it to free agency. Haggerty cites the fact both Marchand and Crosby are originally from Nova Scotia and that the success the two players are experiencing at the World Cup might prompt an impassioned plead to Penguins management from their best player to go get Marchand. Of course while Marchand might be getting a glimpse of how fun it might be to play with Crosby every day, he’s also reminded of just how good playing with Bergeron is.
  • It appears the Montreal Canadiens have anointed Alex Galchenyuk as the team’s #1 center, with head coach Michel Therrien saying he plans to start the talented American on the top line with Max Pacioretty and Brendan Gallagher, as Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette reports. Galchenyuk, who has moved back-and-forth between wing and center since breaking into the league in 2012-13, may have finally earned the trust of the coaching staff on the heels of a strong 30-goal campaign, which included netting 18 over the team’s final 27 games. Veteran center Tomas Plekanec will then assume the role of #2 pivot and is expected to have new offseason additions Andrew Shaw and Alexander Radulov on his wings.

*Mike Furlano contributed to this post.

Snapshots: Dubois, Crosby, Team NA

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

After being selected as the surprise third overall pick in the latest NHL Entry Draft, Pierre-Luc Dubois is trying to prove to everyone that he derserved to be picked above Jesse Puljujarvi and Matthew Tkachuk. In a piece by James O’Brien at NBCSports, Dubois is clear what his goal is this fall.

(The Blue Jackets) drafted me third in front of the guy everybody thought they were going to draft, but I think they made the right decision. I want to prove that to everybody.

For at least the first few years of his career, he’ll be compared to Puljujarvi constantly which is probably more unfair than anything. The Finnish winger has already been playing against men for parts of two seasons, while Dubois will head back for his final year of junior hockey (that is if he doesn’t surprise everyone to make the Blue Jackets out of camp). It may take him a while, but as GM Jarmo Kekalainen comments when talking about what will set Dubois apart, “I keep coming back to his character and hockey sense.”

  • Team Canada has often found trouble pairing players with Sidney Crosby at international competitions, with many high level talents moving on and off of his wing throughout past tournaments.  That said, head coach Mike Babcock may have found a group that he’ll stick with this time. As TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron look like the set wingers for the Team Canada captain. It’s a plan Babcock had way back in May, when he was first envisioning what his lineup might look like. The interesting part, is that Marchand is one of Team Canada’s only natural wingers, and Bergeron is highly regarded for his all-around ability and hockey IQ.  Perhaps it’s centers that don’t find a home on Crosby’s wing, similar to the way Pittsburgh has never been able to consistently pair Crosby with Evgeni Malkin for any length of time.
  • The top two picks of the 2015 NHL draft will be linked once again, as Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel will skate on a line in their second pre-tournament game against Europe tonight. The third musketeer will be Johnny Gaudreau, still unsigned as he’s entered his negotiation freeze during the tournament.  With three of the strongest skaters in the NHL on the ice at once, team North America will surely be interesting to watch, the plan all along of the NHL and commissioner Gary Bettman when he introduced the slightly off-the-board format.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top