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Dan Girardi

Eastern Notes: Rangers Re-tooling Defense, Repo

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The New York Rangers, unsatisfied with the way their 2016-17 season ended, decided to retool their roster this offseason and yesterday’s signing of top-two defender Kevin Shattenkirk and the re-signing of trade deadline addition Brendan Smith should prove to be a key investment to building up their strength on their blueline.

So far, the Rangers have traded away their top center in 27-year-old Derek Stepan and his $6.5MM salary as well as their talented backup goaltender Antti Raanta. In exchange, they have upgraded their defense through free agency, adding Shattenkirk at $6.65MM per year (almost the same salary as Stepan) and re-signing Brendan Smith to a $4.35MM a year deal. Don’t forget the Rangers parted ways with veteran defenseman Dan Girardi in a buyout, but Girardi’s deal was at originally at $5.5MM, so all they have done so far is relocated already spent money. Add Ryan McDonough and veteran Marc Staal and the team has a high-quality defensive top-four. In fact, if you add in veteran Nick Holden, former first-rounder Brady Skjei and new acquisition Anthony Deangelo, a 21-year-old 2014 first-rounder, the team is suddenly overloaded in defensemen.

They have signed backup goaltender Ondrej Pavelek to replace Raanta. The only problem now is the team has holes in the middle as the team only has two centers under contract in Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller and little money remaining to make another major splash. They currently have $8.35MM, according to Cap Friendly, of money to spend, not including the expected retirement of defenseman Kevin Klein or the fact that the Rangers still have two restricted free agents they need to lock up in Jesper Fast and Mika Zibanejad. Perhaps a one-year deal with a remaining veteran center would be a possibility.

  • The Florida Panthers tweeted that they have locked up Finnish forward Sebastian Repo to a three-year entry-level deal worth $925,000 per year. The right-winger was a sixth-round pick in this year’s draft and impressed the organization at their recent development camp.

The Prettiest And Ugliest Contracts Of July 1

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Although hindsight is usually the only way to be certain as to when a deal flops, it seems reasonable to make an immediate assessment as to what deals will backfire or pay dividends. Today was a far more reserved July 1st than the league has accustomed itself to, but there are still a few contracts that stick out – for better or for worse.

 

Pretty: Patrick Sharp – Chicago Blackhawks – $800,000, 1 year.

This doesn’t seem fair. Chicago has been trapped in cap jail, and suddenly, here arrives a productive asset at nearly no cost. Sharp, coming off an injury-filled season, is coming back to the Windy City at a dirt-cheap rate. If he can even find half of the production he had during his last outing, this is a monumental steal. There’s no risk here, and a ton of upside. He still has the hands and hockey IQ to contribute.

Ugly: Steve Mason – Winnipeg Jets – $4,1 MM per, 2 years

Winnipeg was seemingly the last team standing when the music stopped playing. With a goaltending market that inspired no one, the Jets decided today to place their faith in Steve Mason. Coming off a .908 save percentage year, it’s hard to see him doing much worse. But behind the Winnipeg defense, it’s hard to see him doing much better. The pricetag is what really seals this as poor value relative to play. Luckily, if things don’t pan out, it’s only for two seasons. Connor Hellebuyck better prepare himself just in case. Taken in tandem with the highly questionable Dmitry Kulikov contract, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff maybe should have taken the day off.

Pretty: Radim Vrbata – Florida Panthers – $2.5 MM per, 1 year

Vrbata is absolutely a top-six winger, and he was signed for bottom-six money. He can assist a powerplay, and slot up and down a lineup as needed. Florida desperately needed to re-coup some scoring on the cheap after letting so many of their top point-getters walk or be lost to Vegas. With bonuses added in, this becomes a good prove-it deal for Vrbata as well. Solid value was found here for both parties and for a 20 goal, 55 point player, Florida will happily run away from this one.

Ugly: Trevor Daley – Detroit – $3.18MM per, 3 years

Daley was bereft of ice time in these playoffs, and he was competing with some really underperforming defensemen. It’s not like he had a good regular season either – his Corsi For % fell off a proverbial cliff (53.7 to 46.1), and the eye test certainly agreed. He put up decent points, 5 goals and 14 assists through 56 contests, and he can still skate well enough. But long are the days where he can make a difference on special teams or drive an offense with confidence. His turnover rate and inconsistency are not what Detroit needed to stabilize the back-end, and Daley will be 36 at the conclusion of the deal. The last time Daley cut a lucrative free agent deal, Chicago had to offload him due to poor play.

Pretty: Kevin Shattenkirk – New York Rangers – $6.65MM per, 4 years

The money could end up being a slight overpayment, but at the moment it is solid value. Shattenkirk finished 4th in points among defensemen last season and St. Louis never looked the same after he left. He could instantly and single-handedly transform the Rangers’ defense from the jumbled mess they were last season. He will reliably feed the puck to the forward group, and be the quarterback of the Ranger powerplay. What makes this a beautiful deal, however, is the term. If Shattenkirk has a bad year or doesn’t fit the system, New York is not on the hook for eternity. One of the biggest pitfalls in free agency with the bigger names is offering far too many years on contracts. Time and time again, it burns teams who were looking to attract a big fish. GM Jeff Gorton deserves credit here for not going insane with the length, although he was helped by Shattenkirk’s strong desire to return home.

Ugly: Dan Girardi – Tampa Bay – $3 MM per, 2 years

Nothing about this deal makes sense. Girardi earned his buyout from New York through brutal play and horrible possession numbers. Of all the NHL defensemen who played more than 40 games, only Rasmus Ristolainen of Buffalo and Luke Schenn of Arizona had worse Corsi Against per 60 minutes – Girardi finished with 65.11 (versus a 51.67 CF60). By no metric other than shot blocks was he an effective player. He might be worth a flier in hopes of regaining form, but he’s not worth much more. This agreement is made even worse by the fact that Girardi will be stealing valuable playing time from a solid young defenseman like Slater Koekkoek or Jake Dotchin. Combined with the Chris Kunitz signing, this is a team that didn’t get any younger, or any better.

Lightning Sign Dan Girardi

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have added to their defensive corps on the first day of free agency, signing recently bought out New York Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi to a two-year, $6MM deal, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie. Girardi, who was scheduled to make $4MM with the Rangers this season, will now make $3MM yearly from the Lightning plus $1.1MM annually from his buyout, which puts him over what he would have made in New York.

Girardi is a polarizing player in the NHL. Many, including plenty of Rangers fans, felt that he was over-rated and overpaid in New York and is incapable of being a top-four defenseman in the NHL any more. Others rave about Girardi’s character and leadership and feel that he is a valuable asset. Regardless, Girardi will likely play a bottom-pair role for Tampa, but will be well-compensated to do so. The Lightning simply hope they are not the newest team to overpay Girardi and can instead get the most out of the veteran.

Girardi is coming off a career-low 15 points in 2016-17 and saw a drop off in hits and blocked shots as well. However, at one point Girardi was a guaranteed 20-30 point player who excelled at the defensive aspects of the game. The only question is which version of Girardi did the Lightning just commit to?

Free Agency Rumor Round-Up

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Free agency is set to open in mere hours, but there are already plenty of rumors out there about deals that will become official at noon ET. Here are all of the deals expected to be made official this afternoon with the link to the original PHR article or recent report:

Anaheim Ducks expected to sign G Ryan Miller (per TSN’s Bob McKenzie)

Boston Bruins expected to sign LW Kenny Agostino

Buffalo Sabres expected to sign G Chad Johnson

Chicago Blackhawks expected to sign RW Patrick Sharp

Colorado Avalanche expected to sign G Jonathan Bernier

Dallas Stars expected to sign C Martin Hanzal (per TSN’s Bob McKenzie)

Detroit Red Wings expected to sign D Trevor Daley

Florida Panthers expected to sign RW Evgeni Dadonov

Florida Panthers expected to sign C Micheal Haley

Montreal Canadiens expected to sign D Karl Alzner

New York Rangers expected to sign G Ondrej Pavelec

Philadelphia Flyers expected to sign G Brian Elliott

Tampa Bay Lightning expected to sign D Dan Girardi

Vancouver Canucks expected to sign D Michael Del Zotto

Vancouver Canucks expected to sign G Anders Nilsson

Vancouver Canucks expected to sign C Sam Gagner (per TSN’s Bob McKenzie)

Winnipeg Jets expected to sign G Steve Mason (per TSN’s Bob McKenzie)

Trevor Daley, Dan Girardi Close To New Deals

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According to the venerable Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, two deals that seem close as we head into free agency are Trevor Daley heading to the Detroit Red Wings and Dan Girardi heading the Tampa Bay Lightning. While Friedman mentions other potential connections, these are the two he seems surest of, even indicating they could potentially already be done. While Daley can’t sign until July 1st, Girardi is technically already a free agent after being bought out by the New York Rangers.

The pair ranked 23rd and 37th on our top 50 free agent list, expecting Daley to receive an extra year on the open market. Whether the deals are done or not, it shows that there has been fierce interest for both depth defensemen. Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette chimes in, saying that Daley isn’t done but has narrowed his field to two or three teams (with Pittsburgh not one of them). Despite not being allowed to talk contract details in their pre-July 1st meetings, it’s assumed that basic structures are agreed upon since deals come fast and furious as soon as free agency period commences.

Daley and Girardi may not be the most exciting additions, but they could both provide a nice value for what should be relatively little money. Both players are heading into the twilight of their careers, and as we saw with Girardi’s buyout are too risky to commit big money or term to. It will be interesting to see if either one can lock down a third season, or will have to settle for one or two year deals at age 33.

Snapshots: Fabbri, Williams, Girardi, Ducks, Red Wings

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The Blues will look to give Robby Fabbri a shot at playing center in training camp, NHL.com’s Lou Korac notes via Twitter.  The 21 year old played down the middle in junior but has exclusively played on the wing through the first two years of his NHL career.

Earlier today, it was revealed that center Patrik Berglund has been lost to shoulder surgery until December so there is a short-term opening down the middle.  Newcomer Brayden Schenn has spent time at that spot with the Flyers and the team has several other options but if Fabbri can make the switch, he would provide them another top six center option while also giving them some insurance behind veteran Paul Stastny who has one year left on his current contract.

Other news around the league:

  • Pending unrestricted free agent winger Justin Williams spoke with CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Jill Sorenson about his chances of re-signing with Washington. The veteran acknowledged that talks haven’t gone very far, saying “We haven’t had very in-depth discussions with Washington so far, so we’ll see”.  Williams put up 100 points over his two seasons with the Capitals and is slated to be one of the top scoring wingers to hit the open market on Saturday.
  • Tampa Bay has shown interest in soon-to-be UFA defenseman Dan Girardi, notes Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. Girardi was recently bought out by the Rangers but has had several teams express an interest in talking to him during the current interview period.  Smith adds that the team has yet to reach out to blueliners Karl Alzner and Cody Franson at this time.
  • The Ducks have re-signed goalie Kevin Boyle to a one year, two-way contract, TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie reports (Twitter link). The deal will carry an NHL salary of $675K.  Boyle split the season between Anaheim’s AHL and ECHL affiliates but put up an impressive .924 SV% in 19 AHL appearances in 2016-17.
  • Anaheim also re-upped defenseman Jaycob Megna to a two year, two-way deal per CapFriendly on Twitter. The 24 year old made his NHL debut with the Ducks this season but spent most of the season with AHL San Diego, collecting 27 points (5-22-27) in 62 games.
  • The Red Wings have re-signed defensemen Brian Lashoff and Dylan McIlrath to two year, two-way contracts, also per CapFriendly. Lashoff played in five games with Detroit – his first NHL action since 2014-15 – but spent the bulk of the year with AHL Grand Rapids, suiting up in 62 games.  McIlrath was acquired at the trade deadline from Florida as part of the Thomas Vanek trade.  The former first rounder has played in just 43 career NHL games and spent time in three different organizations last season.  He’ll likely reprise his role as a depth defender with Grand Rapids to start 2017-18.  Both contracts are worth the league minimum $650K at the NHL level and $275K at the minor league level.

Girardi Drawing Interest After Buy-Out

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Although he was just bought out by the New York Rangers due to meager performance relative to his pay, multiple NHL teams have shown interest in signing the 33 year-old. Detroit, who is supposedly in the middle of a rebuild, seem compelled to inquire, according to The Athletic’s Craig Custance. The Grand Rapids Griffins championship run will provide an infusion of youth who have won at the professional level, and yet the defense remains a primary concern for GM Ken Holland. Missing the playoffs for multiple seasons may not be palatable to an organization so accustomed to success. It’s uncertain as to where Girardi would slot if he did sign in Detroit. The Wings have 7 defenseman on the roster (when you include RFA Xavier Ouellet), and 4 of those have no-trade clauses.

Also heavily rumored are the Tampa Bay Lightning. Elliotte Friedman stated that the team reached out to the defender, and that it is unknown how that conversation went. Newsday’s Steve Zipay made the connection to current Bolt Ryan Callahan, himself an ex-New York Ranger, with whom Girardi has close ties. Tampa GM Steve Yzerman does seem to like the old-school defensemen, and the team does have only 4 blueliners under contract while they negotiate terms with Slater Koekkoek. The team was already linked to Kevin Shattenkirk via the Tampa Bay Times’ Joe Smith, and players such Brendan Smith and Karl Alzner could find a decent fit on a second pairing. There are certainly more marquee names available out there, but perhaps the prices will become too steep for Yzerman’s liking. Girardi would almost certainly come cheap, and Tampa seems destined to make a push in the Atlantic after a down season – so it’s not an undesirable location.

The market that has surfaced for Girardi is quite remarkable considering his circumstances. Girardi has had three consecutive poor possession seasons which crescendo-ed this year with an 8th-worst Corsi 5-0n-5 finish among all defenders. In a league which is heading in the direction of deeper, more encompassing analytics, Girardi seems to buck every trend out there. He is probably still an NHL defender, but his immobile brand of defense is losing effectiveness fast and his shot-blocking may be beginning to take a toll on his body. His skating is sub-par and his offensive capabilities are very limited. He’s a good penalty killer, but at even strength is generally a net-negative regardless of how sheltered his minutes are. Still, as a veteran on a cheap contract, he might be worth a flier to regain form on a short-term deal. With such a poor UFA offering, it seems he has some value left and should be able to find a new contract with little pain.

Snapshots: Daley, Hainsey, Cannone

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Several reports from around the league have teams in hot pursuit of Trevor Daley, including Detroit and Boston according to Craig Custance of The Athletic and Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald respectively. Daley was ranked #23 in our annual free agent rankings, and while Pittsburgh seemed a likely destination for him to return to it was easy to see why there would be interest from elsewhere.

The veteran puck-moving defenseman continues to log big minutes and put up respectable point totals. While not exactly an offensive defenseman who will contribute a ton of goals, he can move the puck quickly and accurately out of the zone and carry it through the neutral zone. That ability, combined with his extensive playoff experience the last couple of years winning back-to-back Stanley Cups, will seem pretty appetizing on the open market on Saturday.

  • In terms of other Red Wings free agent notes, Custance and Ansar Khan of MLive both link the team to fellow Stanley Cup champion Ron Hainsey. Khan also lists Dan Girardi and Brian Campbell as options, as the Red Wings continue to look at veteran options to help their blueline. While Detroit isn’t expected to compete next season, Ken Holland has been clear about his desire to return to the playoffs as soon as possible. Adding any of the above defenders won’t do that on their own, but they could potentially be flipped at the trade deadline for a younger asset.
  • In addition to all the love that Patrick Marleau is feeling on the open market, Andy Strickland of Fox Sports reports that the San Jose Sharks have apparently made a two-year offer for their long-time forward. It will be interesting to see if the 37-year old is able to secure a third year from a competing team, and what the cap hit would be on it.
  • The Minnesota Wild have re-signed Patrick Cannone to a one-year two-way deal. The minor league forward made his NHL debut this year getting into three games with the Wild, but was held scoreless and is still looking for his first NHL point. A dynamic AHL player, Cannone was set to be an unrestricted free agent but will come back for $650K in the NHL and $225K in the AHL next season.

Free Agent Focus: Detroit Red Wings

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The free agent period is now less than one week away from opening up and there are several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Here is a breakdown of Detroit’s free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: Winger Tomas Tatar has been the Red Wings most consistent scorer over the past couple seasons and is due for a large raise as a result. Though he played with a shoulder injury for much of the season, Tatar still managed to pot 25 goals. The wrinkle with Tatar is that he could still be used as a trade chip should Detroit general manager Ken Holland seek a defensive upgrade. But this seems unlikely. Holland rarely pulls the trigger on deals, despite being known to say that he’s “working the phones.” Expect Tatar to re-sign for somewhere around the money Gustav Nyquist received, possibly getting more.

C Andreas Athanasiou: Another player rumored to be used as a trade chip, Athanasiou is a dynamic, game breaking forward who uses his speed and hands to generate scoring chances while creating highlight reel goals. Despite this, the Red Wings brass and coaching staff have chided Athanasiou for his lack of defensive play and this could pull back some of the dollars he could see. The Red Wings are in somewhat of a strange flux with their roster, and Athanasiou is one of the bright spots on the roster. He’ll see a bump from his entry-level deal, especially since Detroit will need to be more reliant upon him this year.

Other RFA’s: Xavier Ouellet, Robbie Russo, Martin Frk, Jake Paterson, Brian Lashoff

Key Unrestricted free agents: LW Drew Miller – Miller isn’t so much a “key” UFA player as he is an indication of what the Red Wings brass truly values. Miller, at best, is  a fringe fourth liner in the NHL. Though a “penalty kill specialist,” numbers revealed that the Red Wings penalty kill hardly missed Miller when he was sent down to AHL affiliate Grand Rapids last season. The point? The Red Wings must hand off ice time to younger, faster, more skilled players. Re-signing Miller reveals that the Red Wings still don’t trust their young players and worse, will yield very little in the way of production from Miller.

Other UFA’s: Joe Vitale, Ben Street, Dylan McIlrath, Mitch Callahan, Edward Pasquale

Projected Cap Space: Via CapFriendly, the Red Wings have close to $8MM ($7,902,955 to be exact). This money will be used to essentially re-sign everyone within the organization and leave maybe $2-$3MM for an unrestricted free agent. Though Dan Girardi is out there, it makes little sense for Detroit to throw large sums of money on a defenseman who is clearly declining. Saving the money and possibly trying to upgrade via trade would be Detroit’s best option.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

New York Rangers Have Plenty Of Holes To Fill

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The New York Rangers are a team with multiple holes to fill during the offseason as they have lost two key players in center Derek Stepan, who they traded to Arizona on Friday and blueliner Dan Girardi, who they waived before the expansion protection rosters were due a week ago, to protect younger players. On top of that, both proved to be among the team’s top defenders against opposing teams’ top lines. They must be able to replace that.

Both holes, not including the backup goaltending spot that was vacated after the team moved Anttii Raanta to the Coyotes as well, must be filled from without and the franchise didn’t get much immediate help in return from Arizona. The team received 21-year-old defenseman Anthony DeAngelo, who played 39 games for the hapless Coyotes. While the former 2014 first-rounder fared well in those games, putting up five goals and nine assists in that span, that doesn’t translate that he will make the roster outright with the Rangers. The other asset they received in the trade was the No. 7 pick in the 2017 draft, which turned into 18-year-old center Lias Andersson, who will likely need a few years to reach New York.

According to New York Posts’ Larry Brooks, the team should look into acquiring two veterans who can fill those roles for the next year or two until some of their younger players are ready for bigger roles. The scribe lists 37-year-old center Joe Thornton as the perfect player to take over as the team’s top center. He could play next to his friend Rick Nash and form a solid line. A second option would be to trade for New Jersey’s Ilya Kovalchuk to fill that same spot, despite the possibility that New Jersey’s general manager Ray Shero may force the team to move a quality player. If the team promotes from within, there should be a lot of pressure of 2010 first-rounder Kevin Hayes, who at 25, might be ready to take his game to the next level. Hayes has had three solid seasons with the Rangers, putting up nearly 50 points this last year and might be ready for an increased role.

On defense, the team should have close to $20MM in cap space and are expected to be players in the free agent market. They’ve already been linked to Washington Capitals’ unrestricted free agent Kevin Shattenkirk, but the team also hopes to have their own unrestricted free agent, Brendan Smith, locked up as well. Otherwise, they will have double the problems behind the line. Brooks adds the team attempted to move up from the seventh pick Friday to get Dallas’ third overall pick, likely to take top defensive prospect Cale Makar, but were not willing to pay the price for it. Makar ended up going fourth to the Colorado Avalanche.

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