Snapshots: Hamonic, Russell, Seidenberg, Gionta
When the Calgary Flames recalled Rasmus Andersson yesterday, it was an indication that defenseman Travis Hamonic‘s facial fracture, suffered in the team’s opener, was going to cause him to miss some time. However, the team has now officially announced that Hamonic has been placed on injured reserve. The team has labeled his status as week-to-week with no specific timeline for a return. Hamonic suffered the blow in a first period fight with the Vancouver Canucks’ Erik Gudbranson and was forced to leave the contest early. Hamonic has been sidelined frequently in his career, with his 74 games for Calgary last season actually setting a new career-high. Hamonic missed eight games for the Flames in his first season with the team, but spread throughout the season and not more than four at a time. The Flames would be fortunate if this injury only costs Hamonic four games. In the meantime, Andersson, fellow rookie Juuso Valimaki, and veteran depth defender Dalton Prout will be asked to pick up the slack in Hamonic’s absence.
- The rival Edmonton Oilers are getting one of their top defensemen back from injury, as the team announced that Kris Russell has been activated from the injured reserve. Russell’s injury was never disclosed by the team, nor was a timeline given, making his activation both a surprise and not a surprise at all. Russell traveled with the team to Europe and returns in time for the Oilers’ season opener against the New Jersey Devils in Sweden. Russell will skate with rookie and 2018 first-round pick Evan Bouchard, as he makes his NHL debut. In a corresponding move, Edmonton has returned young puck-moving blue liner Ethan Bear to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. Bear has been established as the next man up on defense, so if Bouchard’s early action does not impress and he is returned to junior, expect a prompt recall for Bear.
- The New York Islanders are keeping defenseman Dennis Seidenberg and forward Stephen Gionta with the team on extended PTO’s, notes Newsday’s Andrew Gross. Both veterans played for the Islanders last season and are familiar with the roster and seem willing to hang around in case an opportunity to officially return arises. Per Gross, head coach Barry Trotz called the pair “long-term insurance”. Seidenberg and Gionta will participate in practice and wait to see how the early season unfolds for the Isles, both in health and performance. Neither veteran has much of a ceiling at this point in their career, but are experienced, serviceable, hard-working pros who could step in if needed and provided some immediate support.
Calgary Flames, Brett Kulak Exchange Arbitration Figures
The Calgary Flames and defenseman Brett Kulak exchanged figures for their upcoming arbitration hearing on Monday with the Calgary Flames taking a hard line as they asked for the minimum salary of $650K and a two-way deal. Kulak has asked for $1.15MM, according to Elliotte Friedman.
The Flames, who just put Kulak on waivers on Thursday and subsequently cleared on Friday, want to show the value of the 24-year-old blueliner. Kulak played in 71 games last season, the most of his career (21 games was his highest previously), but averaged just 12:59 of ATOI as a bottom-pair defenseman. The Flames, who are looking to keep as much versatility and depth on their defensive roster, would prefer it if they can move him freely between Calgary and the Stockton Heat of the AHL as the team has a number of talented younger defensemen, who might not make the team out of training camp, but could be ready soon, including 2017 first-round pick Juuso Valimaki, Rasmus Andersson, Oliver Kylington and Josh Healey.
Kulak is looking for a one-way deal and hopes to land a bigger role on the defense, but could find himself out of the rotation as the team already has Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie, Travis Hamonic, Michael Stone and Dalton Prout locked up, while they also have restricted free agent Noah Hanifin still to sign, which could make Kulak the team’s seventh defenseman or out of he rotation entirely.
Regardless of the numbers, both teams can continue to negotiate up until the arbitrator reaches a decision.
Calgary Flames Sign Dalton Prout To One-Year Extension
The Calgary Flames added some defensive depth when they signed Dalton Prout to one-year, $800K extension. The 28-year-old Prout was acquired in late December from New Jersey for veteran goaltender Eddie Lack, but never played a game for the Flames last year, as he ended up being outrighted to the Stockton Heat of the AHL instead.
Prout adds much needed depth to the team’s blueline as the team only has four defensemen under contract at the moment in Mark Giordano, T.J. Brodie, Travis Hamonic and Michael Stone. The team also has two restricted free agents in Noah Hanifin and Brett Kulak to round out the top six. However, while the team has a number of talented defensive prospects that could be ready to play for Calgary this year such as Rasmus Andersson and 2017 first-rounder Juuso Valimaki, Oliver Kylington and Josh Healey, the addition of a veteran, who could be the team’s seventh-defenseman is a great insurance policy if a youngster doesn’t impress in training camp.
Prout, who was placed on waivers almost immediately after being acquired from the Devils, played 34 games for the Stockton Heat, posting two goals, nine points and 44 penalty minutes. He only played four games for the Devils last season. He hasn’t played a regular defensive role in the NHL since the 2015-16 season when he played 64 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Free Agent Focus: Calgary Flames
Free agency is now a little less than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Here is a breakdown of Calgary’s free agent situation.
Key Restricted Free Agents: F Mark Jankowski – Heading into the 2017-18 season, there’s no question that fans were frustrated with waiting for Jankowski. He had just turned 23 and was more than five years from being drafted with just a single NHL game under his belt. Sure, he’d impressed in his first full season in the AHL but after waiting so long Flames fans wanted impact, and they wanted it now.
After starting in the minor leagues once again he was given a chance with the NHL club and didn’t look back, recording 17 goals and 25 points in 72 games. Those numbers were inflated some by the four-goal game he had at the very end of the season, but regardless Jankowski has found a full-time roll on the club going forward. The question is how much is that role worth, as the first-round pick heads into free agency for the first time. With less than a full season of games under his belt there isn’t a ton of leverage from his side, but they may not want to lock him into a long-term deal before really showing what he’s capable of. It seems like a one or two-year bridge deal is in order here, limiting the risk on both sides.
G Jon Gillies/David Rittich – The Flames have to make a decision on who their backup goaltender is going to be next season, and it might as well be one of Gillies or Rittich. Both were inconsistent when given the chance to help out at the NHL level, and have Tyler Parsons and other goaltending prospects chasing them down from behind. With Mike Smith set to come back as the starter, we’ll get a good indication of who will be behind him from the contracts that Gillies and Rittich receive. Both would become Group VI unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2019 if not given an NHL opportunity this year.
Other RFAs: F Nick Shore, F Garnet Hathaway, D Brett Kulak, F Hunter Shinkaruk, F Austin Carroll, F Morgan Klimchuk, F Hunter Smith, F Emile Poirier
Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Kris Versteeg – The Flames lucked out when Versteeg decided to sign with them in the fall of 2016 despite being in training camp with the Edmonton Oilers, and were rewarded with a 37-point season. That earned the journeyman forward another contract for the most recent season worth $1.75MM, but he was unfortunately limited to just 24 games because of injury.
Even if Versteeg were willing to come back for a reduced price, it’s not clear if the Flames have room for him any longer. With the emergence of young players like Jankowski, Hathaway and Curtis Lazar, there might not be any reason to re-sign the 32-year old winger. Still, depending on what happens this summer they may bring him back as a veteran option to fill out their top-nine and give them a little more secondary scoring, provided he’s healthy enough to contribute.
F Matt Stajan – It’s amazing that Stajan is still just 34, despite seeming to have been in the league for two decades. The veteran pivot celebrated his 1,000th game in the NHL this season, but is clearly slowing down as he enters his mid-thirties. With just 12 points in 68 games, Stajan put up the worst offensive numbers of his career and saw the ice for fewer than 11 minutes a night. Though he’s still a positive veteran presence on a team that needs a bounce-back season, there likely isn’t much room on the roster going forward.
Whether Stajan gets another shot elsewhere in the NHL is still very much in doubt. Unfortunately he’s just slightly too young to qualify for a contract that includes performance bonuses, meaning he’ll likely be looking at offers near the league minimum. If that’s acceptable, perhaps he continues his career as a part-time fourth-line center for a contender. If it’s the end, he’ll have a long successful career to look back on even if he didn’t get to the playoffs very often.
Other UFAs: F Tanner Glass, F Chris Stewart, F Marek Hrivik, D Matt Bartkowski, F Luke Gazdic, D Tyler Wotherspoon, D Cody Goloubef, D Dalton Prout
Projected Cap Space: The Flames project to have around $17MM in cap space this summer, depending on where the upper limit lands, and without any premiere restricted free agents could go after some big fish on the free agent market. They do have to worry about extensions for Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk past this season, but still should have some room to play with if they want to add.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see the team let all of their unrestricted free agents go, as none of them figure to be long-term contributors to the Flames success. Even if they do sign some of the minor ones, the biggest impact this summer will likely come through trade or big ticket shopping. Calgary struggled this season and doesn’t have a pick in the first three rounds of the upcoming draft. Things have to change, and they have to change fast for them to see any success in the near future.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
New Jersey Trades Dalton Prout to Calgary
The New Jersey Devils and the Calgary Flames have completed a trade as the Devils have sent defenseman Dalton Prout to Calgary for goaltender Eddie Lack, according to the New Jersey Devils.
Prout, who cleared waivers on Friday, will report to Stockton of the AHL, according to Elliotte Friedman. The Devils had been carrying nine defenseman and had to move on from the 27-year-old, who had only played four games for the team this year.
“Dalton is a guy we’re familiar with,” Flames general manager Brad Treliving said via Postmedia’s Kristen Odlund. “He hasn’t played a whole lot lately. He’s spent his career in Columbus and was traded to Jersey at the deadline last year. With him getting through waivers that allows him to get up to Stockton and get going.”
Lack will be assigned to the Binghampton Devils. He struggled with Calgary after being acquired in the offseason from the Carolina in limited time as the team’s backup to Mike Smith. He had a 5.29 GAA and a .813 save percentage in five appearances before being placed on waivers on Nov. 23. He cleared waivers the following day and was assigned to Stockton, while youngster David Rittich replaced him in Calgary and played well. The 29-year-old Lack did show some improvement in Stockton as he had a 2.57 GAA and a .916 save percentage with the AHL team.
Prout’s deal has a $1.58MM cap hit, while Lack has a $1.38MM cap hit, which will force Calgary to eat $200K, according to Ryan Pike of FlamesNation.ca. One major reason why Calgary moved on from Lack was because the Flames wanted to promote 2016 second-rounder Tyler Parsons to the AHL from the ECHL. The prospect goaltender had a 3.08 and a .907 save percentage in 11 games this year.
“This gave us an opportunity to give Eddie an opportunity elsewhere. David (Rittich) has played well,” Treliving said via Odlund. “Jon Gillies is playing well in Stockton. This will open up a spot for Tyler Parsons (at the #AHL level).”
Philadelphia Flyers Place Mark Alt On Waivers
The Philadelphia Flyers have placed Mark Alt on waivers today, likely in hopes of sending the defenseman back to the minor leagues. Dalton Prout and Dennis Rasmussen, who were both waived yesterday, have cleared and can now be assigned to the AHL for their respective teams.
Alt has played eight games for the Flyers this year, but is likely the odd man out if Brandon Manning is nearing a return. The 26-year old has shown some ability to play at the NHL level, but has never grabbed a full-time spot and held onto it. Selected in the second round in 2010, his career has been almost exclusively spent in the minor leagues.
There is a chance someone puts in a claim if they’ve seen something in Alt’s game that warrants a longer look, but it’s more likely he’ll return to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms tomorrow. They’ll welcome him back as they continue their Calder Cup chase, which is going well so far this season. The Phantoms currently have the most points in the Atlantic Division and sit at 20-9-4 on the season. A healthy Alt will only strengthen their defensive unit, and push them closer to the playoffs.
Minor Transactions: 12/29/17
After another wild night in the NHL that saw the Vegas Golden Knights defeat their division rival Los Angeles Kings to secure top spot in the Pacific and second in the entire league, you can be sure there will be some roster movement. As always, we’ll keep track of all the minor moves throughout the day right here. Make sure to refresh regularly.
- Gabriel Carlsson has been sent back to the minor leagues by the Columbus Blue Jackets, which could signal a return for Zach Werenski. Werenski had been skating as part of the scratch pair for a few days alongside Dean Kukan, who is the other option to enter the lineup in Carlsson’s absence. The Blue Jackets take on the struggling Ottawa Senators tonight.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled Calvin Pickard from the minor leagues, announcing that Curtis McElhinney has a lower-body injury. McElhinney was the backup last night when the Maple Leafs took on the Arizona Coyotes and didn’t enter the game, but was expected to start in the second half of a back-to-back against the Colorado Avalanche tonight. Instead, it seems likely that Pickard will make his Maple Leafs debut against his old team.
- After recording an assist in his return to action for the the Iowa Wild last night, Zach Parise has been recalled by the Minnesota Wild. His conditioning stint was not expected to be very long, but he remains on long-term injured reserve as he continues to work his way back. It’s not clear when he’ll be activated by the Wild, but it was a good step towards recovery yesterday for the veteran forward.
- With Lee Stempniak not ready to go for the Carolina Hurricanes, the team has recalled Lucas Wallmark from the minor leagues. Wallmark played eight games for the club last season, but hasn’t yet suited up this year. In 20 AHL contests, Wallmark has 23 points and continues to prove that he can nearly score at will in the minor leagues.
- Dalton Prout, having cleared waivers, has been assigned to the minor leagues by the New Jersey Devils. Prout could be called back up in case of injury, but for now will need to ply his trade in the minor leagues.
- With Martin Hanzal dealing with a minor injury, the Dallas Stars have recalled Jason Dickinson from the AHL. Dickinson, 22, has played five games for the Stars this season but is still looking for his first point.
- Washington has once again sent Madison Bowey and Jakub Vrana to the minor leagues, but it is likely just a paper transaction. Both players have full-time roles with the Capitals, and are only sent down on off days as a cap saving measure.
Dennis Rasmussen, Dalton Prout Placed On Waivers
As the holiday roster freeze comes to an end, two players have ended up on the waivers. Dennis Rasmussen of the Anaheim Ducks and Dalton Prout of the New Jersey Devils have both been waived, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic.
With Ryan Kessler coming off injured reserve yesterday to make his season debut, someone had to go for the Ducks. With only Kevin Roy, Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase waiver-exempt up front, Rasmussen was the odd man out. In 27 games this season, the former Chicago Blackhawks forward had just four points and hadn’t shown much offensive potential. The 27-year old could be claimed as a depth center around the league, as he earns just over the NHL minimum this year.
Prout was in a similar situation after Marcus Johansson came off injured reserve, but the Devils were already carrying nine defensemen and needed to make a move. Will Butcher and Steven Santini are waiver-exempt, but are too important to send down to the minor league at this point. Instead Prout, who comes with a cap hit of nearly $1.6MM, will be sent to the AHL if he clears. It’s unlikely that anyone would claim the 27-year old defenseman because of that salary, meaning New Jersey will get a prorated $1.025MM in cap space by burying Prout.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: New Jersey Devils
Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
New Jersey Devils
Current Cap Hit: $57,037,501 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Nico Hischier (Three years remaining, $925K)
D Will Butcher (Two years remaining, $925K)
D Michael Kapla (One year remaining, $925K)
F Pavel Zacha (Two years remaining, $894K)
Potential Bonuses
Hischier: $2.85MM
Butcher: $2.85MM
Zacha: $850K
Total: $6.55MM
It turned into a solid summer for the Devils as they won the draft lottery and used that first-overall pick to select Hischier, a talented Swiss center, who put up 38 goals and 86 points in 57 games for the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL. He is expected to break camp with the team and have an immediate impact. With recent injuries, Hischier could take over as the second-line center and start his career in a great position. The hope is he will help lead this team to the playoffs sooner rather than later.
Butcher has been a more recent signing sensation as the Devils also won the offseason bidding for the Hobey Baker Award winner after he became a free agent several weeks ago. Butcher picked the Devils with the hopes of getting immediate playing time, since no one is truly sure if he is an NHL impact player. The 22-year-old blueliner put up outstanding numbers as a junior and senior at the University of Denver, but chose not to sign with the team that drafted him, the Colorado Avalanche. With the Devils biggest weakness being their defense, the team is thrilled to bring him on board.
Zacha, the sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft, finished his first full season in New Jersey, playing in 70 games, while putting up eight goals and 16 assists for the year. While those numbers look disappointing, he didn’t play a lot of minutes last year (14:18) and didn’t play with much talent next to him, although he looked good playing alongside Taylor Hall at points during the season. He should take that next step this year. Kapla, like Butcher arrives to join the team’s defense from college. He played four years for the University of Massachusetts – Lowell and signed a two year deal immediately after ending his senior year. That first year consisted of five games. Already on year two of his deal, Kapla must prove he is an NHL defenseman this year.
One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level
F Ryane Clowe ($4.85MM, UFA)
D John Moore ($1.67MM, UFA)
D Dalton Prout ($1.575MM, UFA)
F Drew Stafford ($800K, UFA)
F Stefan Noesen ($660K, RFA)
The group is not filled with impact players, so the Devils have little to worry about in the short term. They will likely rejoice once’s Clowe’s contract comes off the books. The veteran signed a five-year deal back in 2013 and only played two years, before being forced to retire due to concussion issues. Moore is an offensive defenseman (22 points in 63 games last year), but is totally inept on the defensive end. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the team went in a different direction on defense next year.
Prout, who the team picked up at the trade deadline for veteran Kyle Quincey, only played 14 games for the Devils and it might take all season to determine whether or not he has value. Stafford, who just signed recently to a one-year deal, could easily be a bargaining chip at the trade deadline. After putting up 21 goals two seasons ago while with the Winnipeg Jets, his value dropped as he scored just eight goals between the Jets and the Boston Bruins last season. The Devils, however, are counting on a bounce-back season, which could eventually net them some more young talent. Noesen, who signed a one-year, two-way contract will try to make the roster this year after scoring six goals in 32 games for New Jersey last season.