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Cam Talbot

Minnesota Wild Sign Kaapo Kahkonen

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The Minnesota Wild have already experienced huge changes in the crease this offseason, moving Devan Dubnyk to the San Jose Sharks and then committing to a three-year deal with Cam Talbot. While he will be expected to become the team’s starter in the short-term, there is still a prospect who will be challenging for the job down the line.

Kaapo Kahkonen, the reigning AHL Goaltender of the Year, has signed a two-year contract with Minnesota. That will remove the need for salary arbitration, which Kahkonen elected last week. The deal is a two-way contract in 2020-21, a one-way in 2021-22 and will carry an average annual value of $725K.

Kahkonen, 24, was a fourth-round pick by the Wild in 2014 and remains one of the top goaltending prospects in the league. In his sophomore season at the AHL level he posted a .927 save percentage and 2.07 goals-against average, earning him the top honors. He also received five games at the NHL level, where he more than held his own, posting a .913.

When asked about where the Talbot signing leaves Kahkonen, Wild GM Bill Guerin told Michael Russo of The Athletic that it gives them more time for his development and that “the last time we want to do is rush him along.” 

Notably, a two-year deal will actually take Kahkonen to Group VI unrestricted free agency should he not get an NHL opportunity. Of course, the situation is also complicated by the expansion draft, where the Wild will only be able to protect one goaltender. It seems unlikely that Seattle would be targeting Talbot, but if he has a strong season in the Minnesota net the Wild will have to decide whether to leave him or Kahkonen unprotected.

Cam Talbot To Sign With Minnesota Wild

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The Minnesota Wild are expected to sign Cam Talbot according to Frank Seravalli of TSN. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic tweets that the contract will be a three-year deal worth a total of $11MM.

While we projected Talbot to land in Minnesota, it wasn’t for nearly as much as the Wild have committed in this deal. The team must obviously feel he can carry the majority of the load for the next few seasons, despite struggling in his last opportunity as a starting goaltender.

In 2017-18 when Talbot was the Oilers full-time starter, leading the league with 67 appearances, he registered a .908 save percentage and lost a league-leading 31 games. It went even further downhill the next year when he had an .893 save percentage with the Oilers before a late-season trade to Philadelphia. While Talbot rebounded this season with the Calgary Flames, he also wasn’t asked to play every game.

Minnesota still have Alex Stalock in the mix for the backup role, while top prospect Kaapo Kahkonen is still in the system. Kahkonen took home the AHL Goaltender of the Year award this season and should eventually push his way onto the NHL roster.

Cam Talbot To Test The Market

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While goaltender Cam Talbot had expressed an interest in staying with Calgary, that doesn’t appear to be in the cards, at least for now.  Sportsnet’s Eric Francis reports (Twitter link) that the two sides held recent discussions but weren’t able to come to terms on a contract so the veteran will test the open market in a couple of hours.

The 33-year-old was the backup for the Flames to David Rittich during the regular season and posted strong numbers with a .919 SV% and a 2.63 GAA in 26 games (22 starts).  That helped earn him the starting job for the postseason as he made all 10 starts against Winnipeg and Dallas which should help his stock heading to the market.

Talbot has indicated that he wants to have the opportunity to start but there aren’t likely to be many of those opportunities out there.  However, a platoon situation certainly shouldn’t be out of the equation and he’ll have a fair bit of interest in free agency.  He’s coming off of a season that saw him make $2.75MM and even with a lot of other options out there and a flat salary cap, he should be able to get a deal that’s close to that from someone.

Goalie Notes: Rask, Talbot, Darling

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Cross off one option from the list of potentially available goaltenders. Vezina Trophy runner-up Tuukka Rask isn’t going anywhere. Although Rask opting out of the 2020 postseason raised some questions about his future in Boston, especially with just one year remaining on his current contract, the Bruins reiterated that they expected the elite goaltender to be back with the team next season. Rask himself has now taken control of the narrative, telling Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald that he does not want to play for any team but the Bruins. This would seemingly back up recent rumors that Rask had stated to the Bruins that he would retire if traded. It seems unlikely that the Bruins were pushing too hard to trade Rask anyhow, given that he was statistically the best starting goalie in the NHL this season and the team would struggle to replace him. It’s doubtful that the team would be able to get fair value in any deal for Rask as well. Rask will be back in Boston this year, but beyond 2020-21 remains a mystery.

  • One goalie who will be available is Cam Talbot. Despite an impressive comeback season with the Calgary Flames, the two sides have been unable to agree on terms for an extension. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that talks have broken off for now with the salary gap too far apart. Talbot will test the market and may very well end up elsewhere. Calgary is still in need of a goaltender and could circle back to Talbot if they miss out on bigger free agent or trade targets.
  • An available name getting some surprise attention is Scott Darling. Once one of the top backups in the NHL, Darling’s stint as a starter with the Carolina Hurricanes was an unmitigated disaster and led to a buyout last season and a complete lack of NHL interest. Darling went overseas and joined Austria’s HC Innsbruck of the EBEL. Although his numbers were not all that impressive, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports that there are teams who might be willing to give Darling a second chance. Given the increased importance of goaltending depth in what is expected to be a condensed 2020-21 schedule, an experienced No. 3 like Darling could be valuable.

Pacific Notes: Oilers, Talbot, Suomela, Canucks

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The Oilers intend to see what the free agent market looks like for goaltending before making a decision on Mike Smith, GM Ken Holland told NHL.com’s Tim Campbell.  Smith had just a .902 SV% in 39 games this season which is below average for a backup, let alone someone that was brought in to push incumbent Mikko Koskinen for playing time.  However, cap space is limited for Edmonton with less than $9MM in cap room and quite a few free agents to contend with beyond Smith.  Accordingly, they may need to shop at the lower end of the market to save some money and the fact that the 38-year-old is eligible to sign an incentive-laden deal may be appealing to give them a bit more financial flexibility to work with.  A decision on that appears as if it will occur on or after October 9th.

More from the Pacific Division:

  • The Flames have yet to present an offer to pending UFA Cam Talbot, the goalie revealed to Postmedia’s Wes Gilbertson. The 33-year-old has indicated an interest to remain with Calgary, as long as he’s not in a backup position.  This past season, that was his role as he made just 22 starts while David Rittich made the other 48 despite Talbot having the better numbers.  The tables flipped in the playoffs, however, as Talbot made all 10 starts and played well, posting a 2.42 GAA with a .924 SV%.  A full-fledged starting job may be hard to come by but a platoon position is certainly attainable if he gets to the open market.
  • Sharks center Antti Suomela has started skating with HIFK, the SM-liiga team announced. At this time, he’s only skating with them to stay in shape for next season but as their press release indicates, that could change once he gets a deal done with San Jose.  The pending restricted free agent had a goal and six assists in 20 NHL games this season while chipping in with five goals and four helpers in 14 AHL contests.  If a deal is reached soon, he could join the growing list of players suiting up overseas on loan agreements.
  • The Canucks are expected to tender qualifying offers to AHL players Justin Bailey, Jalen Chatfield, and Guillaume Brisebois, reports Rick Dhaliwal of TSN 1040 and The Athletic (Twitter links). Bailey had a career year in the minors with Utica, collecting 28 goals in just 53 games, good for fourth league-wide.  The 25-year-old has 65 career games of NHL experience and is eligible for salary arbitration.  Meanwhile, Chatfield wrapped up his entry-level deal this past season and had four assists in 48 games.  He was recalled on five separate occasions in 2019-20 but didn’t see any NHL action.  As for Brisebois, he played in 48 games with Utica this past season, picking up four goals and 11 assists.  He didn’t get into any NHL games in 2019-20 but does have eight games of experience from the 2018-19 campaign.

Free Agent Focus: Calgary Flames

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With free agency now less than a month away, many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  While the Calgary Flames have one or two key restricted free agents to deal with, they may have quite a few questions that will need answering among their unrestricted free-agent defensemen.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Andrew Mangiapane – Throughout his career, Mangiapane has done everything right and only continues to get better. A former sixth-round pick in 2015, he worked his way into permanent role in 2018-19 and solidified himself as a top-six forward this year and it showed, posting career highs in his second full season, scoring 17 goals and 32 points. He added another three goals in 10 playoff games this year. The 24-year-old is likely to get a raise after making $800K on his now-expiring entry-level deal. He has proven his value as a key future forward on this team.

F Mark Jankowski – There was a lot of hope for Jankowski, the team’s first-round pick from 2012, but his third season in the NHL was a bit disappointing. In fact, after his rookie campaign in 2017-18 in which the 26-year-old tallied 17 goals, he has seen a continual decline, posting 15 goals in 2018-19 and followed that up with just five goals this year and has seen his playing time continue to drop as he played just 11:06 of ATOI. And at 6-foot-4 and a bottom-line player, he doesn’t play much of a physical game with just 80 recorded hits over three full seasons. However, the team has to decide whether he is worth the $1.75MM qualifying offer to retain his rights.

Other RFAs: F Justin Kirkland, D Oliver Kylington, D Andrew Nielsen, G Tyler Parsons.

10.2(c) Players: F Glenn Gawdin, G Nick Schneider (ineligible for arbitration or an offer sheet)

Key Unrestricted Free Agents

D Travis Hamonic – The Flames gave up quite a bit to bring in the defensive-minded Hamonic back in 2017. While not particularly much of an offensive player, the 30-year-old blueliner is quite a defensive player and was second on the team in ATOI this season at 21:11. Of course, the team was without his services in the playoffs as he opted out due to COVID-19 and family concerns. His daughter has had a significant battle with a life-threatening respiratory virus in the past while Hamonic has a new baby boy as well. However, the blueliner also was dealing with an upper-body injury for a large chunk of the regular season as well. Will the team bring him back? He was quite an affordable commodity at $3.86MM for the last few years, but undoubtedly will be looking for a raise and how many years is Calgary willing to offer to someone who is already 30 years old? With a team as cash-strapped as Calgary, Hamonic may be too pricey to keep.

D Erik Gustafsson – With five unrestricted free-agent defensemen, the team is likely to have to make some tough decisions in the near future. The Flames picked up Gustafsson for just a third-round pick at the trade deadline, which looked like a steal when Hamonic opted out of the playoffs. The team was expecting to lean on the once-high scoring defenseman. Instead, Gustafsson got just third-pairing minutes and wasn’t a big contributor down the stretch, suggesting the team may move on from him. While the 28-year-old’s price tag likely has dropped since posting a 17-goal, 60-point season back in 2018-19 and then following that up with a six-goal, 29-point season this year, a reunion would seem less likely considering the team has limited means as it is.

D T.J. Brodie – A constant trade-rumor candidate last summer, Brodie has found a way to remain with the team and produce quality minutes and may be the best option for Calgary if they were able to re-sign just one starter in the offseason. While his minutes have declined significantly since 2014-15, he still can put of solid defensive numbers and potentially provide solid play for less than the cost of either Hamonic or Gustafsson. He is capable of playing either side of the ice and plays a game that might suggest he could play deeper into his career than other defensemen.

G Cam Talbot – The Calgary Flames added Talbot to their roster as a veteran backup for young David Rittich and instead, Talbot walked away with the starting job, playing in all 10 of the team’s playoff games with Rittich getting just 16:35 of ice time in the final game before they were eliminated by Dallas (he gave up three goals on six shots). Talbot, who posted solid numbers this year, with a 2.63 GAA and a .919 save percentage in 26 regular season games, put up even better numbers in those 10 playoff games, including a 2.42 GAA and a .924 save percentage. The 33-year-old UFA made it clear he is looking for a starting job, but is Calgary willing to give up on Rittich just yet? And are they willing to pay up to keep Talbot, who could have quite a few suitors after his impressive season?

Other UFAs: F Austin Czarnik, D Derek Forbort, F Byron Froese, G Jon Gillies, F Ryan Lomberg, F Alan Quine, F Tobias Rieder, F Zac Rinaldo, F Buddy Robinson, D Michael Stone, D Rinat Valiev.

Projected Cap Space

The Flames only have about $16MM in available cap space and plenty of players they need to sign, including at least one or two defensemen and a starting/tandem goaltender. That doesn’t leave much money left for the team to spend on potential free agents unless the Flames find a way to move out some salary or some key players. Of course, with several rumors spreading about the availability of Johnny Gaudreau, it could be an interesting offseason for the Calgary Flames.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Henderson, UAH, Lizotte

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The Vegas Golden Knights new AHL affiliate will announce their team name on Thursday night, revealing the logo they will use for the 2020-21 season (should it happen) as well.  The team, which will eventually play out of Henderson, Nevada is expected to be named the Henderson Silver Knights (although Murder Hornets was also a popular choice).

The Henderson City Council recently approved $42MM in funding for a new arena to house the AHL franchise, though it is not expected to be ready until 2022. For now, they will play games at Orleans Arena just a few blocks away from T-Mobile Arena, the home of the Golden Knights.

  • If you’re one of those fans disappointed by the recent news that the University of Alabama-Huntsville had canceled their men’s hockey program due to financial concerns, you have a chance to help. The hockey community has started a GoFundMe to try and save the Chargers, working out a deal with the school to keep the program in place if it raises $1MM by the end of the week. Cam Talbot, the school’s most notable hockey alumni, is even spreading the word in hopes that his former program won’t be shut down.
  • Jon Lizotte has re-signed with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for 2020-21, returning on an AHL contract after starting his professional career this season. The former St. Cloud State defenseman scored 17 points in 59 games for WBS but still won’t be on an NHL deal when hockey kicks back up. The 25-year old would need to take a substantial development step to really challenge for an NHL roster spot in the future.

Snapshots: Pominville, Leivo, Red Wings Goaltending

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He hasn’t played in a game since the 2018-19 season ended and it now looks like Jason Pominville’s NHL career is officially over. The veteran forward hasn’t made a formal announcement regarding his retirement, but accepted a coaching position with the Lanaudiere Pioneers, a youth hockey team near his hometown of Repentigny, Quebec, according to the Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski.

Pominville, who said he had hoped he would be signed by an NHL team at the trade deadline, will be an associate coach at the pee-wee and midget levels, but is also expected to serve as a special adviser and a skills trainer within the organization. The 37-year-old spent last season training, but also serving as an assistant coach, coaching his son Jayden with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres.

The veteran played 1,060 games in his 15 years in the league. He spent the majority of that time with the Buffalo Sabres where he ranks eighth in franchise history in games played with 733.

  • Many teams might be able to take advantage of the suspension in play if/when the NHL continues. Several players, who were expected to miss most or all of the 2019-20 season, are now expected to be ready to return to duty when play resumes. However, Sportsnet’s Iain MacIntyre writes that Vancouver Canucks forward Josh Leivo isn’t currently one of those players. Leivo, who fractured his kneecap during a game on Dec. 19, was expected to miss the 2019-20 season. However, the Canucks always stated that if they could go deep into the playoffs, Leivo might be able to return. However, MacIntyre adds that if the playoffs started today, Leivo would not be ready. The 26-year-old already passed his career high in points, posting 19 points in 36 games.
  • While there has been plenty of talk about what the Detroit Red Wings intend to do about their goaltending situation, MLive’s Ansar Khan writes that the team will be looking for a veteran backup in free agency this offseason. The team believes that goaltender Jonathan Bernier is their starter and likely was the team’s most valuable player despite average numbers of a 15-22-3 record, a 2.95 GAA and a .907 save percentage. However, Khan notes, his numbers look pretty good when you look at the goalie numbers when he wasn’t playing: 2-27-2, 4.33 GAA and a .875 save percentage. With a price range likely under $3MM, the best fits might include Cam Talbot, Thomas Greiss and Aaron Dell.

 

Atlantic Notes: Red Wings, Stamkos, Romanov

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With plenty of cap room and a major need in the net, many feel that the Detroit Red Wings and general manager Steve Yzerman might make a splash into the free-agent market this offseason. Longtime goaltender Jimmy Howard is 36 years old, coming off his worst season and is an unrestricted free agent, meaning that a return is extremely unlikely. Throw in the fact that there are several big names that could become available at the time, including Braden Holtby and Robin Lehner, and it’s very likely the Red Wings will be exploring that market.

However, the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James writes neither Holtby or Lehner are likely candidates to come to Detroit next season. Holtby might not be too interested in joining a rebuilding team and the scribe believes that both players’ price tags are likely to be too rich for what the Red Wings are going to be interested to pay. Holtby is currently making $6.1MM per season, while Lehner is currently on a one-year deal at $5MM. Neither is likely to be willing to take much of a pay cut.

James suggests the team is likely going to look for a player to join Jonathan Bernier in more of a tandem role on a short-term deal, including players like Cam Talbot, Anton Khudobin and Jaroslav Halak.

  • The Tampa Bay Lightning suffered a major loss back in early March when it was announced that captain Steven Stamkos would miss six to eight weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a core muscle injury. The recovery time would likely have forced him to miss at least the first-round of the playoffs. However, the suspension of play due to COVID-19 has allowed Stamkos the time he needed to get healthy and recently told Joe Smith of The Athletic (subscription required), that he’ll be ready to go when play resumes. “With the timing of all this, it was devastating at the beginning because I thought I would possibly be missing some playoff games,” Stamkos said. “And the stoppage happened, and we didn’t know how long it was gonna be. So the silver lining in that was I’ll be ready when we resume. So I’ve been able to still use this time to rehab. I’ve been going to the rink … about three times a week to skate and just start feeling normal again.”
  • Sportsnet’s Eric Engels reports that while Montreal Canadiens fans are waiting for top prospect Alex Romanov to sign on the dotted line in the next few days, that might have to wait. Despite that fact that his KHL contract will expire on April 30, Romanov doesn’t intend to sign a contract until he knows what is happening in regards to the NHL’s 2019-20 season. He does intend to sign once play is expected to resume, but the 20-year-old wants to make sure he doesn’t sit for a lengthy amount of time. The defenseman has already played two full seasons in the KHL and many hope that Romanov is ready to step into Montreal’s lineup as soon as next season.

West Notes: Pietrangelo, Talbot, Gagner

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The season isn’t even over yet, but the St. Louis Blues have been busy adding talent to their future with two signings on defense. The team extended defenseman Marco Scandella, while agreeing to term with collegiate Scott Perunovich on a contract. That leaves quite a bit of depth on the Blues’ blueline and leaves even more questions on whether St. Louis intends to sign pending unrestricted free agent Alex Pietrangelo to a long-term deal.

In his most recent mailbag, The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford (subscription required) writes that he believes the Blues continue to prioritize signing Pietrangelo and believes that his $9MM AAV asking price might now be too high and he might have to accept less or a short-term deal as the NHL deals with the effects of COVID-19. Regardless, the Blues will likely have to unload some contracts to make a deal possible as Rutherford suggests the team is likely going to have to move backup goaltender Jake Allen or buying out forward Alex Steen. Allen, in particular, could have some value after posting a 2.15 GAA and a .927 save percentage in 24 appearances, and could attract some teams looking for help in net as he will have one year remaining next year at $4.35MM.

  • Speaking of goalies, Calgary Flames veteran Cam Talbot, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, told Sportsnet’s Eric Francis, that he is looking for one more chance to be a starting goaltender again and that will be his basis for signing with a team. “I wouldn’t rule out coming back, but, obviously, my goal coming here was to show the rest of the League that I still have it in me to be a starting goalie and I think I accomplished that,” Talbot said. The 32-year-old had a bounce-back season in Calgary after signing a one-year deal with the Flames with a 2.63 GAA and a .919 save percentage in 26 appearances as the backup to David Rittich.
  • In his most recent mailbag, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector suggests that there is a strong likelihood that the Edmonton Oilers will re-sign fourth-line center Sam Gagner to another short-term deal. He believes that Edmonton general manager Ken Holland looks at Gagner as a future member of his front office in the same way he looked at Dan Cleary, Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby when he was with the Detroit Red Wings. On top of that, Gagner is likely looking for a one-year deal at under $1MM, a contract that a team like Edmonton would value considering how top-heavy the team is in expensive contracts. Edmonton is also Gagner’s family’s home, suggesting that is where he would prefer to stay.

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