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Overseas Notes: Pirri, Brule, Villacher

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Despite some early reports, it remains unclear whether free agent forward Brandon Pirri is leaving the NHL or not. News out of local sources in Switzerland made it sound as if the young scorer had already come to an agreement with the ZSC Lions of the NLA. However, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, one of hockey’s top news-breakers, did some digging today and has doubts about the deal. Friedman believes that Pirri still plans on staying in North America, despite what is likely ample interest from European clubs. Pirri, still just 26 years old, has not been tendered a qualifying offer in back-to-back years, despite racking up 47 points in 121 games with the New York Rangers, Anaheim Ducks, and Florida Panthers over the past two seasons. Before that, Pirri notched a 22-goal season for the Panthers in 2014-15. Yet, often described as a one-dimensional player, Pirri has been unable to find a long-term NHL home. Will he wait out the market or take a minor league deal, as Friedman suggests, or will eventually succumb to the pressure of overseas offers, like that of ZSC, and leave North America?

  • One former NHLer who first turned to the ZSC Lions when he could not find a new NHL team was Gilbert Brule. The sixth overall pick of the 2005 NHL Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets, Brule left for Swtizerland in 2012 after his once-promising career had produced only 95 points in 296 NHL games over seven pro seasons. Brule attempted a comeback the following year, but found a similar lack of success and moved on to the KHL, where he has played ever since. According to a press release from Russian club Traktor Chelyabinsk, Brule is on the move again, but still within the KHL. Traktor has acquired the now 30-year-old forward for cash compensation from Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk. Brule is coming off his best pro season in 2016-17, after posting 42 points in 52 games between Neftekhimik and Medvescak Zagreb. Brule will look to stay hot in the final season of his contract after finishing in the top 25 in points per game last season in the KHL.
  • Brule’s former team, Medvescak Zagreb, has now left the KHL and has re-joined the EBEL, a league based mostly out of Austria, but that includes other European clubs like Zagreb, a Croatian team, and others from the Czech Republic, Italy, Hungary, and Slovenia. While league re-alignment has been a major story for the EBEL, another has been the active off-season for Villacher SV, the lowest-placing Austrian team in 2016-17. In the past two days, Villacher has added arguably the two biggest names of any EBEL signings this summer in Rob Flick and Ben Walter. Flick, a fourth-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010 and a well-regarded enforcer, had been unable to crack an NHL lineup despite solid defensive play and moderate offense in the AHL and ECHL. The 26-year-old finally found his scoring touch with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays last season, notching 63 points in 60 games and will now look to keep that going with Villacher. Walter, a veteran of lower-level European hockey, was one of the top scorers in the EBEL in 2014-15 with 43 points in 50 games. Walter was a fifth-round selection of the Boston Bruins in 2004, and unlike Flick, saw 24 games of NHL action with the Bruins, New York Islanders, and New Jersey Devils. While Flick and Walter may not be massive names by any means to most North American fans, their relative talent level make them huge acquisitions for Villacher.

Brandon Pirri Signs With Swiss Team

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Two days after former New York Rangers’ Kevin Klein signed with the ZSC Lions in Switzerland, another former Ranger has agreed to sign with the Swiss club as well. According to the Swiss Hockey News, forward Brandon Pirri has signed with the club as well, although terms have not been announced.

Pirri, who did not receive a qualifying offer from the Rangers, has bounced around from one NHL team to the next. He has played for four teams over the last four years and while he’s considered to be a highly-skilled goal scorer, has struggled to accomplish that feat at the NHL level. He did score 22 goals in the 2014-15 season with the Florida Panthers, but followed that up with an 11-goal season the following year and was eventually traded to Anaheim for a six.

The Ducks chose not to extend him a qualifying offer and Pirri then signed with the Rangers a year ago. He played in 60 games last year, putting up eight goals and 10 assists.

 

Will The San Jose Sharks Make A Move?

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It’s hard to make an argument for any other team in the NHL as having a less exciting start to the 2017 off-season than the San Jose Sharks. Yes, the Sharks are just a year removed from a Stanley Cup appearance and have re-signed Norris Trophy-winner Brent Burns as well as Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Joe Thornton, and Martin Jones since then. You can get excited about new deals for Ryan Carpenter and Tim Heed last month too if you like. Yet, other than re-signing their own players, what have the Sharks added to their 2017-18 squad?

We know what they’ve lost. Patrick Marleau, a career-Shark and the franchise leader in goals (power play, short-handed, and even strength), points, and games played, is now a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. David Schlemko, a 2016 free agency addition, was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Expansion Draft and then flipped to the Montreal Canadiens. Micheal Haley (Florida Panthers) and Buddy Robinson (Winnipeg Jets) are also gone.

The only additions for San Jose thus far, as they look to plug the holes formed by lost free agents as well as improve upon their 2016-17 performance: left wing Brandon Bollig and goaltender Antoine Bibeau. Bollig, 30, is a physical, fourth-line caliber forward, but doesn’t produce enough on a consistent basis to be a regular player. Bollig hit his career-high in points in 2013-14 with the Chicago Blackhawks when he scored 14 points in 82 games. Soon after, he was traded to the Calgary Flames, where he scored just nine points in 116 games over two seasons before being buried in the AHL for the entirety of the 2016-17 season. The big winger posted 11 goals and 11 assists in 60 games for the AHL’s Stockton Heat, but still brings little to the the table for the Sharks other than grit and experience. As for Bibeau, the 23-year-old keeper was not tendered a qualifying offer by the Toronto Maple Leafs after a disappointing season. Bibeau had an .894 save percentage and 3.08 GAA in 32 regular season appearances for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies and performed even worse in his one playoff game. Bibeau had clearly fallen behind Garret Sparks and Kasimir Kaskisuo to fifth in the Leafs’ organizational depth chart, and so he was not retained. In San Jose, Bibeau will be no greater than fourth behind Jones, Aaron Dell, and Troy Grosenick and may never get another NHL start.

Bollig and Bibeau, two players destined for the AHL, are not exactly an inspiring pair, which begs the question: will the Sharks make another move? The team is far from perfect and could use some help. Jones and Dell proved to be a solid duo last season and the blue line is as deep as any in the NHL, but San Jose is not without needs up front. The Sharks ranked just 19th in scoring last season, and also boasted on of the worst power play’s in the NHL, below average face-off numbers, and poor possession stats. Burns (a defenseman) was the team’s leading scorer last year and tied for the team lead in goals, while the since-departed Marleau was fifth in scoring and third in goals. The rest of the top five scorers –  Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture, and Joe Thornton – will return, but the 38-year-old Thornton is recovering from a torn ACL and MCL, an injury that occurred after he scored all *seven* of his goals. Beyond those three forwards, the production dropped way off in 2016-17 to the likes of disappointments such as Mikkel Boedker and Joel Ward and young, developing players like Chris Tierney and Tomas Hertl. The Sharks have a clear need for secondary scoring, especially with Marleau gone, and could use a power play catalyst as well. Brandon Bollig is not going to cut it and a full season of Jannik Hansen, acquired at the Trade Deadline, likely won’t either.

Top options for the Sharks include Thomas Vanek, Drew Stafford, and Jiri Hudler, while taking a waiver on a veteran like Jaromir Jagr, Jarome Iginla, P.A. Parenteau, or Mike Ribeiro or on a younger player like Alex Chiasson or Brandon Pirri could work as well. Given the Sharks’ scoring needs, their sufficient cap space, and the complete dullness of their off-season to this point, perhaps maybe two of those players could find their way to San Jose. If not, the Sharks do have pieces to make a move to acquire a scorer, potentially a Matt Duchene or Evander Kane, if they so choose. One way or another, GM Doug Wilson needs to do something, and quick, or not only will he have a team that has surely gotten worse since the end of the season, but he will have a disappointed fan base on his hands as well.

Blackhawks Announce Qualifying Offers

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With tomorrow’s 5:00 PM ET deadline fast approaching for teams to submit qualifying offers to their impending free agents, names are about to flood in over the next 24 hours. Most RFA’s of any value are usually qualified and their teams retain sole control over their rights, while all others become unrestricted free agents. Each year, there are always some surprises though. Some names, like the New York Rangers’ Brandon Pirri, Adam Clendening, and Mackenzie Skapski, have already been leaked over the past few weeks as not being qualified. On the other hand, all RFA’s who were protected in the Expansion Draft had to first be extended a qualifying offer. That still leaves a long list of players to be determined tomorrow.

Count the Chicago Blackhawks as one team that won’t be scrambling tomorrow. Chicago has already made public which of their restricted free agents were and were not qualified. Among those whose negotiation rights the Blackhawks will retain are forwards Dennis Rasmussen and Tomas Jurco and defensemen Ville Pokka and Erik Gustafsson. Who is headed for unrestricted free agency? Forwards Michael Latta and Kenton Helgesen and defenseman Nolan Valleau. There is no official word, but it is overwhelmingly likely that the Blackhawks will qualify recently-acquired goalie Anton Forsberg, who GM Stan Bowman called the team’s 2017-18 backup at the draft this weekend.

There isn’t much surprise to Bowman’s decisions regarding his RFA’s. The 26-year-old Rasmussen has been a key bottom-six forward for the Blackhawks, skating in 112 games and recording 17 points while serving an important role as a defensive forward and penalty kill contributor. His qualifying offer was just $650K, the 2017-18 league minimum and well worth the services of a good, young two-way forward. Jurco, still just 24, made his NHL debut with the Red Wings back in 2013 and was an “up-and-coming prospect” in Detroit for a long time. It cost the Blackhawks a third-round pick to pry him from the Red Wings and they’ll look to make up for that loss by developing a player with undeniable talent who hasn’t been able to put it all together. Even though he’ll likely cost the cap-strapped ’Hawks $1MM or more per year, expect a deal to get done. Pokka, while he has not yet made his NHL debut, has been the top blue liner for the AHL’s Rockford Ice Hogs for two years now and will certainly get his shot in the coming season for a weakened Chicago defense. One of the main pieces in the Nick Leddy trade, the Blackhawks have plans for the Finnish defender.  Gustafsson played 41 games for the Blackhawks just two years ago and posted 14 points while playing to a +11 rating and seeing significant ice time. He may not have appeared in 2016-17, he seemed to be a viable candidate for a role this season as well. Valleau not so much. The 24-year-old out of Bowling Green University has struggled to produce in two AHL seasons and his -19 rating compared to just eight points this past season was likely his ticket out of town. Laatta, perhaps the most recognizable name on this list, is still not much of a surprise. As a young player with the Washington Capitals, Laatta showed promise as a career checking line player, but even in that role there were holes in his game. After signing with the Los Angeles Kings last summer, Laatta was dealt to the Blackhawks mid-season for another Capitals cast-off, Cameron Schilling. In neither L.A. nor Chicago did Laatta make an NHL appearance and may be a career minor leaguer moving forward. Helgesen is surely a career minor league player; he has spent the entirety of the past two seasons in the ECHL with nearly no production.

While Chicago’s qualifying moves are fairly straightforward, they don’t always go that way. Stay tuned for more qualifying offer announcements over the next 24 hours.

Rangers Not Expected To Qualify Clendening Or Pirri

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Seemingly minor news in a major article from the New York Post’s Larry Brooks today may have a substantial impact on the New York Rangers and this summer’s free agent market. Brooks reports that the New York Rangers do not plan to extend qualifying offers to impending restricted free agents Adam Clendening and Brandon Pirri. If restricted free agents are not tendered a qualifying offer, they become unrestricted free agents. The qualifying offer process, while not straightforward , is relatively pain-free for the team. For 2017, players must be offered 110% of their previous year’s salary if they made $660K or less last season, 105% if they made between $660K and $1MM, and 100% if they made over $1MM. The offer must also be a one-way contract if the player played in 180 games over the past three seasons, 60 games in 2016-17, and did not clear waivers this past season. While this may sound convoluted, it simply means that the New York Rangers only had to offer Clendening a two-way contract worth $660K, as he made $600K this past season and played in only 31 games, and Pirri a two-way contract worth $1.1MM, as he made $1.1MM this past season and played in only 170 games over the past three seasons, in order to maintain their negotiating rights. It seems as though the Rangers do not want to shoulder that burden however.

This is a familiar situation for Pirri, who was non-tendered by the Anaheim Ducks last season as well. Just 25 years old, Pirri has struggled to find a long-term NHL home, having played with four different teams in his last four seasons. He has a knack for scoring goals, which he was especially adept at in parts of three seasons with the Florida Panthers, but failed to put the puck in the net very often in New York, scoring just eight goals and 18 points total in 60 games. Though $1.1MM is not an extraordinary commitment for a young player with a good shot, the Blueshirts apparently do not feel he is worth that much when they have only limited cap space and more pressing needs to fill this summer. Pirri will again become an intriguing name on the free agent market, as some team takes a chance on an unproven player with one proven quality: goal-scoring.

The scenario with Clendening is a little more puzzling, especially taking into account the Rangers’ extension of Steven Kampfer. Much like Pirri, Clendening too has had a tough time finding his place in the NHL, having been traded three times, claimed on waivers, and non-tendered last season. That comes out to a total of six teams for a player with three years of NHL experience. Yet, Clendening had a career year in New York, posting career-highs in games played (31), points (11), and hits (22). The analytics community was especially fond of Clendening, who had an overwhelmingly positive impact on possession. Unlike Pirri, the Rangers seemed to be a good fit for the 24-year-old. Yet, the team inked the 28-year-old journeyman Kampfer to a two-year, two-way deal worth $650K (just $10,000 less than Clendending’s qualifying offer), when Kampfer is older and far less productive. In fact, the only thing that Kampfer will likely be better than Clendening at in 2017-18 is not being claimed on waivers. Perhaps that is the sole reason the Rangers chose one over the other. If not, it seems to be another evaluation mistake by the New York brass in regards to defense. With more of a bona fide resume after this past season, Clendening too should drum up some interest on the free agent market.

Expected Extensions Prior To Expansion

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Over the next few weeks, leading up to  June 17th, when each team must submit their list of protected players from the Expansion Draft, there is going to be a flurry of activity. The Vegas Golden Knights are expected to make several side deals regarding the selection process, while the other 30 teams will be working through trade proposals with one another as well. Many teams will also make smaller moves, such as extensions and buyouts, to make the expansion process easier on themselves. Examples could include potential extensions by Carolina or San Jose if they decide they would like to protect Lee Stempniak or Mikkel Boedker respectively. However, there remain several teams that must re-sign a current player, following logic anyway, prior to Saturday the 17th, or else risk having to expose and possibly losing a major piece instead. Each team must expose two forwards and one defenseman that played in at least 40 games this season or 70 games over the past two seasons and also have term remaining on their contract. While meeting these quotas is not a problem for some teams, others lack the roster depth in long-term contracts to do so. No team wants to be pressured into exposing a valued player just to fill that quota, so instead they will sign another current player with the caveat that he will be left unprotected in the Expansion Draft. Such situations played out all year long, with Blackhawks’ forward Jordin Tootoo, Hurricanes’ defenseman Klas Dahlbeck, and, the most publicized of all, Flames’ defenseman Matt Bartkowksi. Yet, unsolved situations still exist. Below are some of the most dire situations and who could benefit from an extension in the near future in order for their team to comply with Expansion Draft rules:

Team: New Jersey Devils

Situation: The re-building Devils nonetheless have a solid core of forwards that they would like to keep together: Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, Adam Henrique, Travis Zajac, and Mike Cammalleri. New Jersey should be within their means to protect this group, expect that it leaves only Devante Smith-Pelly as a forward meeting the 40/70 qualification. Even for those who doubt the effectiveness going forward of the oft-injured 34-year-old Cammalleri, surely the Devils could find a better player to sacrifice than he or Smith-Pelly if they so choose.

Expected Extension: As a young team, the devils are chock full of impending restricted free agents. However, not all RFAs are created equal. Beau Bennett, Jacob Josefson, and Stefan Noesen are all candidates for extension and exposure, but Bennett played a bigger role for New Jersey than even Smith-Pelly in 2016-17 and Noesen played the best hockey of his young career after a mid-season trade from the Anaheim Ducks. Josefson has shown next to no progress in six years in New Jersey. Look for the Devils to try to work out an extension with the 25-year-old center to fill the hole in their expansion plan.

 

Team: New York Rangers

Situation: The Devils’ cross-town rivals are in a similar situation. The Rangers have put together a core of forwards that is the envy of most teams in the league, but it could soon be torn apart. Many feel that backup goalie Antti Raanta will be Vegas’ choice, but New York doesn’t want to give them any reason not to go that route and instead steal a good young forward. The team is already reserved to the fact that 2016-17 breakout star Michael Grabner has to be exposed, but they would rather protect all five of Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider, Mats Zuccarello, J.T. Miller and Kevin Hayes, in addition to Rick Nash, whose No-Movement Clause prevents exposure, and impending RFA Mika Zibanejad. The only problem is that this protection scheme leaves only Grabner as a 40/7o forward.

Expected Extension: The Rangers are not without options for a forward to extend and expose. RFA’s Jesper Fast, Oscar Lindberg, Brandon Pirri, and Matt Puempel would all meet the quota criteria if handed a new deal, as would UFA Tanner Glass. While New York may not be eager to lose any of the four, none significantly outshine Raanta or Grabner in terms of selection value anyway, giving the team every reason to get an extension done with one or more. Fast seems certain to get a new contract from the Rangers anyway, so don’t be surprised if such a deal lands in the next week or two.

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Expansion Draft Issues: Post-Trade Deadline

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Last month, we looked at several teams facing some tough situations in regards to the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft and offered potential solutions to how they could address their needs for forwards, defensemen and goalies at the NHL Trade Deadline. With March 1st over and done with, many of those squads have solved their problems with signings or acquisitions.

Calgary Flames

Problem: Defense

Status: Solved

The Flames solved their problem of otherwise having to expose Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie, or Dougie Hamilton with the ingenious signing of Matt Bartkowski, the only defenseman on the planet who was both free to acquire and automatically eligible for exposure in the draft. It’s a good thing they signed him too, since they ended up trading away their best fall-back option, young defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka.

Carolina Hurricanes

Problem: Defense

Status: Unsolved

It was a pretty quiet deadline in Raleigh, as the ’Canes shipped out Ron Hainsey and Viktor Stalberg and then called it a day. What they didn’t do was acquire another body on the blue line to help solve their lack of a defenseman to expose. Carolina is still facing the problem of All-Star Justin Faulk being the only defenseman on the roster currently meeting the criteria for mandated exposure, due to the majority of their defensemen being too young to be eligible altogether. There is no way that Faulk is there for the taking by Vegas, but GM Ron Francis is left with only two choices: extend impending RFA Klas Dahlbeck or extend impending UFA Matt Tennyson and make sure he plays in seven more games this season, as he’s currently short of the 40-game mark.

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Deadline Primer: New York Rangers

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At times this season the New York Rangers have looked the part of legitimate Stanley Cup contender. With a talented a deep group of forwards, the Blueshirts have shown the ability to score goals in bunches and have been among the top offensive teams in the NHL all season long. Certainly they boast enough firepower to keep pace with anyone in the league.

At other times the defensive lapses that derailed their 2015-16 campaign have reappeared and may again threaten to undermine the Rangers playoff hopes. It looks more likely than ever that Dan Girardi and Kevin Klein are simply ill-suited for the fast paced style the Rangers want to employ and just can’t cut it in top-four roles. Either would be decent options on the third pair but right now one of them has to play on one of the team’s top two pairings.

So what exactly are the Rangers? Are they a team one savvy blue line addition away from competing for the Stanley Cup? Or are they a team whose window is all but closed; one that needs too much help to reasonably expect to contend and who should resist the urge to mortgage yet more of their future in what will almost surely be another fruitless effort to win it all? That’s the question that GM Jeff Gorton and his staff have to answer in the coming days.

Record

39 – 19 – 2, 80 points, currently in third place in the Metro Division.

Deadline Status

They’re the Rangers and have essentially been all-in for the last several seasons. The Blueshirts have added Martin St. Louis, Keith Yandle and Eric Staal at the deadline at each of the last three trade deadlines respectively and they’ll be a buyer yet again. But don’t necessarily expect a splashy move. Gorton has already displayed a strong desire to protect the organization’s limited pool of prospects and draft picks. They’ll look to make a deal but likely are not willing to sacrifice much in the way of young NHL talent or futures in any move.

Deadline Cap Space

According to Cap Friendly, the Rangers will have just more than $10.1MM in cap space with which to play with. Again, a significant departure from past versions of the Rangers but a welcome one all the same as the team won’t necessarily have to pay a higher price due to requiring their trade partner to retain salary.

Draft Picks

2017: NYR 1st, NYR 3rd, Florida 4th, NYR 5th, Vancouver 6th, NYR 7th

2018: NYR 1st, NYR 2nd, Ottawa 2nd, NYR 3rd, NYR 4th, NYR 5th, NYR 6th, Florida 7th*

*Contingent on Dylan McIlrath appearing in at least 30 NHL games in 2016-17.

Trade Chips

Shockingly, the Rangers still have their first round pick for 2017. The Blueshirts haven’t exercised a pick in the draft’s opening round since 2012, when they chose defenseman Brady Skjei 28th overall. Should they choose to hold onto that pick, they do own multiple second round picks in 2018 thanks to the Derick Brassard–Mika Zibanejad swap. Perhaps they’ll be willing to make one of those choices available.

After failing to earn a spot with the Rangers AHL affiliate in Hartford, Ryan Gropp returned to the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL, where he has registered a 25-41-66 scoring line in 55 games. He was the Rangers second round pick in 2015 and could be viewed by some teams as a potential late bloomer. The Rangers are fairly deep between the pipes in their system with Igor Shesterkin leading the way. Adam Huska and Tyler Wall are both playing NCAA hockey this season and are legitimate NHL prospects. The Rangers have done an excellent job as an organization identifying unheralded goaltending prospects and seeing them develop into quality pro netminders and Huska and Wall have a chance to continue that trend.

The Rangers will be reluctant to move anyone on the NHL roster but might consider including one of Jesper Fast or Oscar Lindberg in a package to upgrade the blue line given the amount of depth up front. They might also be willing to part with Matt Puempel or Brandon Pirri but neither player likely carries much trade value. Other clubs will come calling on young forwards like Kevin Hayes, J.T. Miller and Chris Kreider, players just beginning to hit reach their respective ceilings in the NHL, but it would take a substantial offer to pry one of them away.

Players to watch: Kevin Klein (recent back issues could increase the Rangers need on the blue line); Lindberg; Fast; Gropp; Wall;

Team Needs

  1. Defense: The question is whether one legitimate top-four blue liner is enough or will the team need to add two new defensive options.
  2. Defense: See above
  3. Defense: See above the above.

 

Expansion Draft Issues At The Trade Deadline: Forwards

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This trade season is one like never before. The addition of the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017-18 and the Expansion Draft that goes along with it add a whole other layer to trade-making this year. With each and every transaction, the expansion draft protection formula can change. Even in 2000, when the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets were welcomed into the league, the expansion rules were not a strict and general managers did not have to be as paranoid about their moves. This time around, everything is different. What does it all mean? For fans, there is a real possibility that this could be the quietest Trade Deadline in recent memory. Buyers interested in impending free agent rentals may not have to worry about the draft implications, but the sellers potentially taking back roster players with term certainly do. Trading is hard enough, especially in a season with very few teams significantly out of the playoff race, and expansion will only increase those barriers. Luckily, there are several teams that need to make moves prior to the deadline or they could risk being in very sticky situations when the Knights get ready to make their selections. With teams like the Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Anaheim Ducks, who have so much talented, veteran depth at multiple positions, there is really not much that they can do; they’re going to lose a good player. For others, a sensible contract extension can solve all of their problems. However, for these teams, making a trade before it’s too late may be exactly what they need. We’ve looked at the defense conundrums of the Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes and the goaltending scenario of the Philadelphia Flyers, but there a quite a few more teams with problems up front that need solving:

Chicago Blackhawks

Luckily for the Blackhawks, it’s hard to remember a deadline where GM Stan Bowman didn’t add a veteran forward. This year they may really need one though, regardless of their Cup run condition, to protect young scorer Ryan Hartman. The 22-year-old winger has 13 goals and 10 assists in his first full season with Chicago, and if nothing changes it would likely be his last season in Chicago. In setting their protected list for the Expansion Draft, the Blackhawks must protect Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, and Artem Anisimov due to their no-movement clauses. They would, of course, have protected those four anyway, but other than that group, the team has only two other players that meet the draft criteria of having two unprotected forwards that have played in 40 games this season or 70 games over the past two seasons and have term remaining on their contract: Marcus Kruger and Hartman. Kruger is not a great loss, but retaining Hartman is a major priority as the deadline approaches. The ‘Hawks could simply re-sign 30-year-old Andrew Desjardins or 34-year-old Jordin Tootoo, who both hit the 40/70 benchmark, but are impending free agents. However, the pair have combined for one point in 63 man-games this season and may not strike Bowman as players worth keeping, since they are nearly guaranteed to not be selected by Vegas. Richard Panik and Dennis Rasmussen are both restricted free agents who would also qualify if given an extension, but the team might think twice about exposing either player when they don’t have to. If push comes to shove, Chicago would surely rather lose Rasmussen or have to re-sign Desjardins if it means that Hartman is safe, but acquiring an affordable, serviceable forward with years remaining on his contract prior to the deadline may be the easier move for Bowman and company.

Dallas Stars

Despite their performance this season, the Stars are very much built like a team trying to make one last run at a Stanley Cup. Only five players on Dallas and on the AHL’s Texas Stars have both two years of professional play under their belt and term remaining on those contracts. The rest of the team is composed of impending unrestricted free agents and the AHL squad is mostly restricted free agents.  Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza have no-movement clauses and are obviously safe, as is All-Star Tyler Seguin. However, without any further moves, Dallas would have to leave 25-year-old center Cody Eakin and team enforcer Antoine Roussel exposed in the draft. With the likes of Radek Faksa, Brett Ritchie and (probably) Valeri Nichushkin needing to be protected as well, the Star’s may have to leave one or the other on the table, but certainly not both. Roussel is having a career year, on pace to beat his career-high 29 points while also skating a career-best 15 minutes per game. Eakin, who missed time earlier this year and has been held to just six points in 33 games, is regardless coming off of three straight seasons of 35+ points and is just entering his prime. If they want to protect one or both, moves need to be made. Dallas is not short on extension options, with UFA’s Patrick Sharp, Patrick Eaves, Jiri Hudler, Lauri Korpikoski, Adam Cracknell and even the injured Ales Hemsky meeting the 40/70 criterion. However, if the Stars want to make up for their disappointing season, trading several of those players for picks and prospects at the deadline seems likely may eliminate some choices. In the process of moving out that trade capital, it may simply be easier for GM Jim Nill to add one or two qualifying forwards along the way.

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Trade Deadline Reflection: Finding Value In The Margins

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The trade deadline now more than ever is a tough time to impact your team. With the tightening cap structure, long-term deals for young players and league-wide parity (however falsely constructed), finding a deal that works for both teams in a time-sensitive manner is a struggle. While every year there are one or two big name players moved, shocking deals (in the manner of Shea Weber for P.K. Subban) usually wait until the summer.

It’s because of this that fans and media alike must learn to love the small deals, the hockey swaps and the fresh starts. In these trades, teams can find a player that fits perfectly into their system and adds depth for a playoff run. Under-performing teams can take chances on fallen stars, prospects who have been labeled as early busts, or veterans who can make an impact in the development of a young player.

Though deals for Kevin Shattenkirk and Matt Duchene might sound fun, it’s often the Patrick Eaves or Ron Hainsey addition that makes a meaningful impact. To take a page from baseball, adding value anywhere is equal; upgrading the bottom pairing by a lot may be as important as improving your first line by a little. Last year, there were several deals of this nature.

Anaheim added goal scoring to their lineup by bringing in Jamie McGinn and Brandon Pirri on deadline day. The two would score 11 goals in 30 games (total), with McGinn scoring another pair in the playoffs. Edmonton would benefit from the deals as it let the Ducks part with Patrick Maroon later that day. Maroon made an immediate impact for the Oilers and has continued it with an 18 goal season  this year (though playing with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl doesn’t hurt). Justin Schultz

Florida was only able to deal Pirri away because they’d added depth of their own in Teddy Purcell and Jiri Hudler. The pair of upcoming UFAs would each perform quite well for Florida down the stretch helping them lock up first place in the Atlantic Division.

Pittsburgh may have been the biggest winners in late-February without making a huge splash. On the 27th, just a couple of days before the deadline they made the small move of acquiring Justin Schultz. It only cost them a third-round pick (which would be #91 after the Penguins won the Cup). Though Schultz made an impact down the stretch with eight points in 18 games, this season that he has really shone. It’s been 35 points in 47 games for the former Edmonton Oiler.

It’s interesting to watch all the fanfare surround deals like Andrew Ladd, Kris Russell and Eric Staal. None of those deals worked out that well for their teams, despite the huge price tags. So when approaching this deadline don’t shrug off the little deals. They may be just as important, and much more affordable, than going after the big fish.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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