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Brandon Tanev

Jets Re-Sign Brandon Tanev

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After going through an arbitration hearing with defenseman Jacob Trouba, the Jets were able to avoid that step with winger Brandon Tanev, announcing (Twitter link) that they have inked him to a one-year contract.  Team reporter Jamie Thomas adds via Twitter that the deal is worth $1.15MM.  That represents a nice raise on the $700K he earned last season while he will be eligible for unrestricted free agency next summer.

Tanev is coming off of his best NHL season, posting eight goals and ten assists in 61 games in 2017-18 while logging 12:40 per night in ice time.  He followed that up with a strong showing in the postseason, collecting four goals and two helpers in just 17 games while seeing an uptick in playing time to 17:19 per night.

The 26-year-old figures to reprise his role in Winnipeg’s bottom six and should once again play an important role on their penalty kill.  He averaged 1:58 per night shorthanded, third among all forwards.  For perspective, center Adam Lowry, who also re-signed earlier in the week, ranked first among forwards at 2:02 per night.

Meanwhile, the Jets still have plenty of work to do on the free agent front.  The team still has seven restricted free agents to sign, headlined by defenseman Josh Morrissey.  Of that group, only forward Marko Dano has an arbitration hearing on the horizon.  They have more than $10MM of cap space to work with so they shouldn’t have any trouble getting anyone locked up although they will likely want to leave themselves some space for any in-season moves as well as expected bonuses from their entry-level players such as wingers Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor.

Winnipeg Jets’ Jacob Trouba Awarded One-Year, $5.5MM Contract From Arbitrator

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Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba was awarded a one-year, $5.5MM contract from an arbitrator, according to Elliotte Friedman. The deal is an even split down the middle as the Jets submitted a $4MM bid, while Trouba requested a salary at $7MM.

The deal is very cap friendly for the Jets who could have seen a much larger sum awarded to Trouba. The Athletic’s Sean Tierney reports that the salary comparisons included Duncan Keith, Andrej Sekera, Tyler Myers, Justin Schultz, Colton Parayko and Jeff Petry.

Now with the deal complete, the Jets must turn their attention to their other restricted free agents. The team still has to deal with Brandon Tanev, Marko Dano, Tucker Poolman, Josh Morrissey, Nicolas Kerdiles, Eric Comrie, Nicolas Petan and J.C. Lipon. With the Trouba deal, the team will have less than $13MM in cap space to lock them up. However, that number will be reduced even further once performance bonuses have been added into the cap, making it closer to $9.3MM.

Regardless, the biggest concern was Trouba’s deal, which the team has 48 hours to accept it (which they will) or allow him to walk away now as an unrestricted free agent. While this relieves immediate pressure, the one-year deal suggests the team must go through the same process once again next season as he will be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights for the 2019-20 season before he will become an unrestricted free agent. The team has to hope they can come to a long-term agreement at some point in the next year before losing him before the 2020-21 season. With the possibility that Trouba is not interest in signing long-term with the Jets, Trouba’s name could find itself in the rumor mill for quite a long time. The team, however, cannot talk extension until Jan. 1, 2019.

Full 2018 Arbitration Hearing Schedule

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Almost four dozen players decided to file for salary arbitration this summer, and while some of them have already been signed to contracts many others now know when their hearing will take place. The NHLPA released the full schedule of hearings, spread out from July 20th to August 4th.  Remember that players can sign up until an arbitrator awards a contract, including in the short window after the hearing.

July 20

Jacob Trouba – Team filing: $4.0MM, Player filing: $7.0MM. Awarded one-year, $5.5MM contract.

July 23

Brett Kulak – Team filing: $650K, two-way contract, Player filing: $1.15MM, one-way contract. Awarded one-year, $850K contract.

July 24

Brandon Montour – Team filing: $1.5MM, Player filing: $4.5MM Settled before hearing, two years $6.775MM

July 30

Garnet Hathaway – Team filing: $650K, Player filing: $975K Settled before hearing, one-year $850K

August 1

Cody Ceci – Team filing: $3.35MM, Player filing $6.0MM. Awarded one-year, $4.3MM contract.
Gemel Smith – Team filing: two-way contract, Player filing: $900K. Awarded one-year one-way, $720K contract.

August 3

Mark Stone – Team filing: $5.0MM, Player filing $9.0MM Settled before hearing, one-year, $7.35MM

August 4

William Karlsson – Team filing: $3.5MM, Player filing $6.5MM

Remaining 2018 Arbitration Dates

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As usual, arbitration hearings scheduled for later this month have been getting cancelled every day as teams lock up their restricted free agents. Hearings are scheduled each year between July 20th and August 4th, but we’ve already seen 18 players that filed for player-elected salary arbitration reach a settlement with their respective teams. Those players are listed below, with their contract details:

Elias Lindholm (CGY) – 6 years, $4.85MM AAV
Trevor van Riemsdyk (CAR) – 2 years, $2.3MM AAV
Matthew Nieto (COL) – 2 years, $1.98MM AAV
Devin Shore (DAL) – 2 years, $2.3MM AAV
Joel Armia (MTL) – 1 year, $1.85MM AAV
Phillip Danault (MTL) – 3 years, $3.08MM AAV
Blake Coleman (NJD) – 3 years, $1.8MM AAV
Stefan Noesen (NJD) – 1 year, $1.73MM AAV
Jimmy Vesey (NYR) – 2 years, $2.28MM AAV
Taylor Leier (PHI) – 1 year, $720K AAV
Alex Lyon (PHI) – 2 years, $750K AAV
Jamie Oleksiak (PIT) – 3 years, $2.14MM AAV
Dmitrij Jaskin (STL) – 1 year, $1.1MM AAV
Oskar Sundqvist (STL) – 1 year, $700K AAV
Colin Miller (VGK) – 4 years, $3.88MM AAV
Liam O’Brien (WSH) – 1 year, $650K AAV
Connor Hellebuyck (WPG) – 6 years, $6.17MM AAV
Tomas Nosek (VGK) – 1 year, $962.5K AAV

The remaining arbitration schedule looks like this:

July 20

Chris Tierney (SJS)
Jacob Trouba (WPG)

July 22

Adam Lowry (WPG)

July 23

Brett Kulak (CGY)
Mathew Dumba (MIN)

July 24

Brandon Montour (ANA)

July 25

Joel Edmundson (STL)
Brandon Tanev (WPG)

July 27

Mark Jankowski (CGY)

July 28

David Rittich (CGY)
Jason Zucker (MIN)

July 29

Troy Stecher (VAN)

July 30

Garnet Hathaway (CGY)
MacKenzie Weegar (FLA)
Marko Dano (WPG)

July 31

Brady Skjei (NYR)

August 1

Cody Ceci (OTT)
Gemel Smith (DAL)

August 2

Miikka Salomaki (NSH)
Kevin Hayes (NYR)

August 3

Mattias Janmark (DAL)
Mark Stone (OTT)
Brock Nelson (NYI)

August 4

Ryan Spooner (NYR)
Patrik Nemeth (DAL)
William Karlsson (VGK)

Busy Offseason Now Looms For Winnipeg Jets

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The Winnipeg Jets have been eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, knocked out by the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in just five games. That ends what was an outstanding season for the Jets, who not only climbed into the playoff picture but showed they could be a long-term contender. Their young core has all reached new heights, and should be able to put pressure on the best teams in the Western Conference for some time.

With those young pieces though come several big decisions. The offseason, not even 24 hours old for the Jets, already must seem too short for GM Kevin Cheveldayoff and the rest of the front office staff. Not only do they have to prepare for the draft in a month’s time, but the roster has just 14 players under contract for next season.

The biggest negotiations will come with Winnipeg’s pending restricted free agents. The list is a who’s who of talent on their club, and will chew up a big part of their salary structure if signed this summer. The Jets’ restricted free agents include:

Jacob Trouba
Josh Morrissey
Tucker Poolman
Joseph Morrow
Jan Kostalek

Brandon Tanev
Joel Armia
Marko Dano
Adam Lowry
Chase De Leo
Jimmy Lodge
Nic Petan
J.C. Lipon

Connor Hellebuyck
Eric Comrie
Jamie Phillips

Especially on defense and in goal, these are key players who could demand long-term contracts with substantial cap hits. Trouba, who once wanted out of Winnipeg to play a bigger role somewhere else, has recently indicated that he would like to stay with the Jets long-term. The team would obviously want that too, but have to carefully manage their finances as they approach restricted free agency next summer with Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor. Success is eventually paid for.

With so many restricted free agents, it’s sometimes easy to forget that Paul Stastny, Toby Enstrom, Matt Hendricks, Shawn Matthias and Michael Hutchinson are also headed for the unrestricted waters this summer. Several of these players will generate extensive interest should they hit the open market, and it’s not clear if Winnipeg intends on re-signing any of them. If they do, July 1st is coming quicker than you may think, and work needs to be done to secure their future contracts.

Either way, Winnipeg has a busy few months ahead of them as they try to piece the roster back together and take another shot at the Stanley Cup in 2019. Though there needs to be a few days of decompression from their shocking defeat, there’s plenty of work to be done.

Poll: Should The Winnipeg Jets Re-Sign Paul Stastny?

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There is much to be proud of if you’re a Winnipeg Jets’ fan, but while most fans are paying attention to their play in the Western Conference Finals. And while the Jets find themselves down 3-1 against the Vegas Golden Knights, Winnipeg will need to find a way to win three in a row. To do that, they will need success from multiple lines, including the success of the team’s second line, including Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers and trade deadline acquisition Paul Stastny.

When the team traded for Stastny for prospect Erik Foley, a 2018 first-round pick and a conditional 2020 fourth-round pick, they got a steal. Stastny has stabilized a powerful young line next to Laine and Ehlers as the line has helped guide them through the playoffs. Just against the Nashville Predators alone in the playoffs’ second round, Stastny practically beat the team on his own, putting up five goals and five assists in seven games. He has been effectively shut down by Vegas in four games as he’s only managed one assist, yet the veteran has been key to their playoff future.

The Hockey News’ Matt Larkin recently wrote a story wondering what the chances Stastny has of returning to Winnipeg next year. The unrestricted free agent is 32 years old, a point where long-term deals start to look questionable as many players in their 30’s begin to decline, especially with speed being emphasized by many teams. Unfortunately for Winnipeg, the free agent options at center will be very limited this year after the Islanders’ John Tavares, making Stastny the likely second-best free agent on the market. With many teams in need of a center, he could easily get a big deal and while maybe not as high as the $7MM a year he’s been making recently, but he should easily fetch $5MM per year with his next deal and if the team has to overpay to keep him, it could go as high as $6MM per year.

Then the question is whether Winnipeg can afford him. While the team has ample cap space at the moment, the Jets also have 14 players on their current roster who will either be restricted or unrestricted free agents. Many of their restricted free agents like Adam Lowry, Brandon Tanev, Joel Armia and Josh Morrissey should get solid raises, while others like Jacob Trouba and Connor Hellebuyck should get major contract extensions, likely taking up a large chunk of their available cap space, leaving little or no room for Stastny. Add to the fact that Laine, Kyle Connor and Tyler Myers all will need new contracts in one year, that leaves little wiggle room unless general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff can pull of a clever balancing act to keep everyone happy.

So, should Winnipeg try to keep Stastny around next year or just let him go?

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

Injury Notes: Eichel, Jets’ Updates, Scandella, Schmidt, Neal

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Jack Eichel has taken his first step or skate in his road to recovery from the high ankle sprain that sidelined him on Feb. 10. Given a timetable of four to six weeks, Eichel skated Saturday for the first time, according to the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington. Despite skating, head coach Phil Housley stated that he is not ready to return to practice yet and there is no timetable for a return.

“We don’t want to put him under that sort of pressure,” Housley said. “He has skated. He started skating yesterday so that’s good to see him start making progress.”

With the season hitting its final stretch, there is no guarantee that Eichel will return to the lineup at all, although Housley said that Eichel definitely wants to return before the end of the season. The 21-year-old was on pace to surpass his career highs in goals as he already had 22 goals in 55 games (24 goals is his career high). The team is 4-5-1 without Eichel these past 10 games.

  • Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun writes that Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba and forward Adam Lowry are both progressing, but aren’t expected to return during the Jets’ six-game road trip. Trouba has been missing since Jan. 25 with an ankle injury has been skating for more than a week, while Lowry has been out since Feb. 1 with a lower-body injury. However, forward Brandon Tanev is ready to return, but head coach Paul Maurice doesn’t want to change his forward lineup. Defenseman Toby Enstrom is expected back either Tuesday or Thursday. He’s missed two games with a lower-body injury.
  • Wiebe also adds that Winnipeg Jets goaltender Steve Mason is traveling to New York City to meet up with team for their upcoming game against the New York Rangers on Tuesday. He got in a game of conditioning with the Manitoba Moose Saturday, allowing four goals on 22 shots in a 5-4 overtime victory. Mason has been out with a concussion and hasn’t played in a game since Jan. 9.
  • Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News tweets that defenseman Marco Scandella, who missed most of Friday’s game due to a big hit on the boards, is practicing with the team today.
  • SinBinVegas tweets that Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt and winger James Neal (hand) both did not fly with the team to New Jersey, which will start the team’s five-game road-trip. However, both are expected to eventually meet up with the team.

 

Snapshots: Dahlin, Tanev, Zaitsev, Ellis

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While Nico Hischier used the World Junior Championships a year ago to propel him to be the top pick in the 2017 draft, that hasn’t been needed for Swedish defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, the consensus No. 1 overall pick for the upcoming 2018 draft. However, no matter how secure Dahlin has that spot locked, he has done more than enough in this tournament to prove his worth, according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli.

On the final day of preliminary-round play, Dahlin is tied for the lead in points in the tournament with six and that’s as a 17-year-old. Most of the top players are 19. However, his play is what has garnered the most attention.

“Rasmus Dahlin is to a franchise what McDavid and Matthews have meant to the Oilers and Maple Leafs,” TSN director of scouting Craig Button said. “He is to defencemen what those two guys are to centremen. He is a No. 1, elite defencemen who can play in the NHL right now. Right now.”

Seravalli adds that while Team Canada won’t decide until Jan. 11 whether to use major junior players for the Olympics, Dahlin could be the first player to go from the World Juniors to the Olympics since Eric Lindros did it in 1992.

  • The Providence Journal’s Mark Divver tweets that Winnipeg Jets winger Brandon Tanev will be out two to three weeks with a lower-body injury. The 26-year-old Tanev has been a regular for the Jets, having put up three goals and 10 points in 39 games so far this season.
  • Jonas Siegel of The Athletic tweets that Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said that defenseman Nikita Zaitsev might return by Jan. 16. The team needs help on defense after falling 6-3 to the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday. “The reality is whoever you play on a nightly basis has to be able to play and sometimes when you play quick teams (like) tonight some guys get exposed and that was evident,” Babcock said.
  • Adam Vingan of the Tennessean writes that now that the Nashville Predators have assigned Frederick Gaudreau to Milwaukee of the AHL, the team has an open roster spot. He adds that defenseman Ryan Ellis, who has been out all season after undergoing knee surgery, has been cleared to play and the team may have opened up a roster spot for his return. It was reported earlier that Ellis’ targeted return was on Jan. 2.

Minor Transactions: 12/30/17

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While much of the hockey world’s focus has been on the World Juniors in Buffalo this week, the NHL is still rolling along with the 2017 segment of the season about to end. With six games tonight and another nine tomorrow on New Year’s Eve, teams are still making moves even with a day off for all but the Rangers and Sabres coming on Monday:

  • The Winnipeg Jets announced today that young forward Brandon Tanev has been placed on injured reserve. Coach Paul Maurice told the media that it is a lower-body injury and that Tanev is expected to be out two to three weeks. While Tanev has only ten points thus far, he is enjoying his best NHL season to date, now in his third year with the Jets. His absence only compiles the loss of Mark Scheifele, as another possible depth player who could step up is now out of the picture.
  • However, Winnipeg has responded by calling up highly-touted prospect Jack Roslovic from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. Last season, Roslovic led the Moose in scoring as a rookie and in 2017-18 is the third-leading scorer in the entire AHL with 35 points. With Scheifele out, now is the time for Roslovic to jump in and show that he can be an offensive force in the NHL as well and is deserving of a roster spot for the remainder of the season.
  • The St. Louis Blues have activated Jay Bouwmeester from his second stint on the injured reserve this season and expect him to suit up tonight for their game against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes. In turn, the Blues have demoted rookie blue liner Jordan Schmaltz to the San Antonio Rampage of the AHL. Schmaltz, 24, has been held scoreless in four games so far this season, but has 19 points to his credit in 24 AHL games.
  • Andy Welinski has been returned to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, the Anaheim Ducks announced. The move comes after a call-up in which Welinski made his NHL debut and recorded his first NHL point and ended a four-game stint with two assists and a +1 rating. The long-time Minnesota-Duluth star may have to wait awhile for another chance in Anaheim, but he made a good first impression.
  • The Vancouver Canucks have brought Michael Chaput back up, according to a team release. Chaput was a  frequent contributor in Vancouver last season, playing in 68 games, but has only three to date in 2017-18. While Chaput is having a good year down in the AHL with the Utica Comets, he would undoubtedly rather stick with the ’Nucks on this recall.
  • CapFriendly reports that the Nashville Predators have recalled forward Frederick Gaudreau from the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, but also notes that this move would put the NHL roster at 24. With the placement of Filip Forsberg on IR, the roster returned to 23.
  • In an on-paper move, the Washington Capitals recalled both forward Jakub Vrana and defenseman Madison Bowey from the Hershey Bears of the AHL. Even though neither player moved anywhere, both were sent down Friday to help ease the team’s tight salary cap situation.
  • The Boston Bruins activated center David Krejci off injured reserve today after having missed the past six games, according to Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald. The 31-year-old Krejci has only played in 18 games this year, having put up five goals and nine assists this year. He scored 23 goals a year ago.

Trade Rumors: Coyotes, Canadiens, Jets, Islanders

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In all likelihood, the recent three-way trade that sent Matt Duchene to the Ottawa Senators and Kyle Turris to the Nashville Predators will be the biggest deal made this season. Yet, that hasn’t stopped the whispers of an bustling trade market, especially this early in the season. At the quarter pole of the 2017-18 campaign, it’s been an unpredictable season, prompting an unexpectedly active market. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch has had his ear to the ground and has plenty of input on who the buyers and sellers are right now:

  • To no one’s surprise, Garrioch states that the floundering Arizona Coyotes are “willing to talk about pretty much every player on their roster”. That of course doesn’t include Calder-hopeful Clayton Keller or many of their other 21-and-under starters, but the rest of the roster may as well be up for grabs. The big off-season acquisitions of Derek Stepan, Antti Raanta, Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Jason Demers have done nothing to change this team’s ability to win hockey games. At some point, GM John Chayka is going to go from “up-and-coming” to “up-and-went” and that pressure could force him to make some major moves as he rethinks his rebuild. While impending UFA’s like Raanta, Brad Richardson, and Luke Schenn would be the easiest pieces to move, the stakes are high for a Coyotes team whose core has done next to nothing for years and key pieces like Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Max Domi, Anthony Duclair, and Tobias Rieder could soon be on their way out.
  • Perhaps the only team more disappointing than Arizona in 2017-18 is the farthest team from them across North America: the Montreal Canadiens. Under new head coach Claude Julien, the Habs have fallen apart. However, the newly-signed coach isn’t going anywhere, putting GM Marc Bergevin, who Garrioch calls ” the NHL’s most active GM”, on the hot seat. Bergevin may be willing to make a big move to save his job, and of course the first name that comes to mind is young forward Alex Galchenyuk, who has predictably struggled under the defense-first Julien. Galchenyuk seems lost in Montreal, without an identifiable position, role, or spot in the lineup, and could use a change of scenery. However, he is not wholly to blame for the Canadiens’ struggles. Tomas Plekanec has long been on the block and if the team truly commits to a rebuild, big names like Max Pacioretty, Shea Weber, and (if anyone is willing to take on his monstrous new contract) even Carey Price could soon join the list.
  • Garrioch mentions both the Winnipeg Jets and New York Islanders as possible sellers, but given the surprising success of both clubs thus far, neither is likely rushing to trade pieces away unless they can make their teams better this season. Impending Jets UFA’s Shawn Matthias and Matt Hendricks may draw interest, but if Winnipeg is in playoff position come deadline time, they would want veteran depth for themselves. It seems more likely that GM Kevin Cheveldayoff could use his overflow of young forwards like Marko Dano, Joel Armia, Andrew Copp, Adam Lowry, or Brandon Tanev as trade bait to bring in another top-six forward for a team that doesn’t shoot the puck nearly enough. As for the Islanders, Garrioch singles out first-time UFA Calvin de Haan as the player to watch. Yet, de Haan is one of, if not the best shot-blocker in the NHL, can play major minutes, and is reliable in both ends. If the Isles can resign him, wouldn’t they? Obviously, John Tavares is the main focus and the team thinks highly of younger options like Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock, but the loss of a player like de Haan, especially with Travis Hamonic now in Calgary, could cripple a playoff-bound Islanders squad. Odds are de Haan sticks around, at least as long as New York remains playoff-bound.
  • So who’s looking? Garrioch mentions the Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames, Columbus Blue Jackets, and the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins as suitors for forward help, with the Dallas Stars potentially looking to make another big blue line trade to turn their season around. With that many buyers and several disappointed sellers, the trade NHL trade market may not wait until 2018 to heat up.

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