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Daniel Winnik

Free Agent Focus: Minnesota Wild

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Free agency is now 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 Minnesota’s free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents: F Jason Zucker — Zucker has put himself into a great position, posting career numbers in a contract season. Two years ago, Minnesota handed him a two-year prove-it deal, which he certainly has responded to. After the 26-year-old posted 22 goals in 2016-17, he responded with 33 goals this year. In fact, he posted personal bests in games played with 82, goals, assists with 31, points with 64, power play goals with seven and shots with 222. Now a three-time 20 goal scorer and a one-time 30-goal scorer, the team must decide whether it intends to give him a long-term contract, which won’t be that easy considering the team has little room under the cap. His lack of playoff success is also a factor as he’s scored just four goals in 31 career playoff games and just one in the last three years. Regardless, after making $2MM, Zucker should get quite a pay raise.

D Mathew Dumba — The Wild also have another key restricted free agent they must lock up as well as Dumba also has stepped up his game in a bigger role this season. While the blueliner averaged 20:20 of ATOI in the 2016-17 season, it increased even more as Dumba averaged 23:49 of ATOI this season. He picked up several personal bests, including games played (82), goals (14), assists (36) points (50) and shots (176). Most importantly, he took on the role as the team’s No. 1 defenseman when filling in for both Ryan Suter and Jared Spurgeon, who both missed time at the end of the season. So now, after finishing up a two-year bridge deal at $2.55MM AAV, he is in line to get a big payday as well from Minnesota.

Other RFA’s: F Adam Gilmour, D Dylan Labbe, G Steve Michalek, D Ryan Murphy, D Nick Seeler.

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Matt Cullen — Fortunately for the Wild, their unrestricted free agent issues aren’t as important than their restricted free agents. The 41-year-old Cullen put up a solid season in his second trip to his hometown state, posting 11 goals and 22 points in a bottom-six role. The real question is whether Cullen even wants to return for another season in the NHL. He has already played in 1,445 career games and has little more he needs to accomplish. He took a long time to decide last year whether he wanted to return as he didn’t sign with Minnesota until August of last year. Now with changes in management, do the Wild even want him back. He wouldn’t be too expensive as it’s likely he would make something around the $1MM offer he made last year.

F Daniel Winnik — Another depth option for Minnesota, the Wild must decide if they want to bring Winnik back after a one-year deal at $660K. The 33-year-old veteran played in 81 games for the Wild as a bottom-six wing. While averaging 13:34 of ATOI, he struggled to produce points, putting up just six goals on the season. With little productivity in hits and just a 44.7 percent faceoff percentage with 199 faceoffs taken, he didn’t provide as much as the team had hoped other than veteran and playoff leadership.

Other UFA’s: F Patrick Cannone, F Kurtis Gabriel, D Alex Grant, F Zack Mitchell, D Zach Palmquist, F Kyle Rau, D Kyle Quincey.

Projected Cap Space: With a lot of heavily-laden contracts on the books as well as re-signing several of their restricted free agents (don’t forget about Seeler either), there is little cap room to work with at the moment. CapFriendly has them with $7.4MM in available cap space. Don’t be shocked, however, that new general manager Paul Fenton makes some trades to shake up the team, which hopefully will free up some of their cap space and give the team an opportunity to compete for more than just making the playoffs in the near future.

Retired Official To Join Situation Room For Goaltender Interference Reviews

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7:30PM: The NHLPA has worked quickly to review the proposed changes. The Competition Committee announced this evening that they have approved the “NHL General Managers Recommended Change to Rule 78.7(ii) Governing Coach’s Challenges for Goaltender Interference”. The Committee, made up of members Mike Cammalleri, Ron Hainsey, Kevin Shattenkirk, Cory Schneider and Daniel Winnik, was joined by other players in making this decision. Players’ Association executive and long-time NHLer Mathieu Schneider stressed that “first and foremost, the players want consistency in the application of the rule”. The last remaining step in the process is for the recommendation to be approved by the NHL’s Board of Governors. At this rate, the rule change could be made by the end of the week.

10:30AM: The league knew something had to be done about the goaltender interference problem, and today at the GMs meetings in Florida Gary Bettman announced that a retired official will join the situation room in Toronto to determine the call on interference reviews. This announcement, as reported by several sources including Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, comes pending approval from the Competition Committee and Board of Governors.

Though the league demonstrated that there hasn’t been considerably more challenges this season than those the last few years, the decisions have come under much greater scrutiny. Weekly there is a decision that is met with ire from fans of a certain team, and coverage was only increased when the league admitted they would be instructing their officials to call things differently after the All-Star break.

Now things seem to be taken out of the on-ice officials’ hands, as the league will make the decisions themselves—though one can suspect they will consult the game referees. Still, theoretically it should provide some more consistency to the calls at the very least. As Darren Dreger of TSN points out, the league could eventually move to the same system they have for offside reviews, in which a team receives a minor penalty if they challenge and get it wrong.

Frank Seravalli of TSN believes that the six referee supervisors will be the ones who rotate through the situation room, listing Don Koharski, Paul Devorski, Rob Shick, Mick McGeough and Don Van Massenhoven as potential options, while Greg Wyshynski of ESPN adds Bill McCreary and Director of Officiating Stephen Walkom.

Minnesota Wild Sign Daniel Winnik

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The Minnesota Wild have finally come to terms with Daniel Winnik, signing him to a one-year, $660K contract ahead of the team’s season opener on Thursday night. Winnik had spent training camp with the Wild on a professional tryout, after being unable to find a contract anywhere in the league.

Winnik actually ranked #36 among our Top 50 Free Agents for this summer, after putting up a solid 12 goal, 25 point season a year ago. His contributions are really felt on the penalty kill and defensive side of the game though, where he ranks among the league’s best. All of that didn’t secure him a deal anywhere though, as the 32-year old had to settle for a “prove it” tryout with the Wild.

A relic of the old draft structure, Winnik was selected in the ninth and final round (265th-overall) of the 2004 draft. Immediately he exploded at the NCAA level and wouldn’t take long before debuting with the Phoenix Coyotes in 2007. Since then, he’s played 717 NHL contests and recorded 228 points, while suiting up for 58 playoff contests. He’ll continue that run in Minnesota, where he’s expected to suit up as part of a rotating bottom-six.

Minnesota has always put a high value on defense from their forwards, and head coach Bruce Boudreau knows Winnik from their time in Anaheim together. Winnik received some of the most ice-time of his career while playing for the Ducks, and obviously has a trust in the coach who put him in those situations. While he won’t be asked to play the same role, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him first over the boards on almost every penalty kill this season, even with the outstanding options the team already has.

Michael Russo of The Athletic broke the news just minutes before the team announced the deal.

Central Notes: Winnik, Upshall, DeBrinicat

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The Minnesota Wild have seen enough out of Daniel Winnik, who is on a PTO with the team. He has been informed they don’t need to see him again and now begins the waiting game for the 32-year-old forward, who must wait to see if the Wild will choose him over youngsters Joel Eriksson Ek or Luke Kunin, according to The Athletic’s Michael Russo (subscription required).

Winnik, who is looking to play for his eighth NHL team, had a good camp and impressed head coach Bruce Boudreau.

“I pulled him aside and I talked to him and said, ’Danny, you’ve done great. I know exactly how you play. We just want to look at a couple of the young kids,'” Boudreau said. “So it’s not like he would have to come in here and play great to either make the team or not make the team.”

According to Russo, Kunin has had the better camp so far between the two rookies and the team intends to look at both he and Eriksson Ek more closely in tonight’s preseason game against the Dallas Stars. Kunin, who has been playing center for the team all preseason will be tried at right wing.

As for Winnik, he remains a free agent and could sign with any team, but might have to take a small pay cut if he makes the Wild’s roster as the team is low on cap space.

  • The Athletic’s Jeremy Rutherford tweets that Scottie Upshall passed a physical and was signed to a PTO and is currently practicing with the team. The hope is that a contract can be worked out in the next couple of days. Upshall spent the past two years in St. Louis. The 32-year-old fourth-liner had a solid season a year ago with the Blues, scoring 10 goals and eight assists. He was just released from his PTO with Vancouver and has a good chance to return to his old team with the multitude of injuries to players like Patrik Berglund, Zachary Sanford, Robby Fabbri and Alex Steen.
  • The Daily Herald’s John Dietz writes that it looks like Chicago Blackhawks’ Alex DeBrincat might make the team, writing that he had an excellent training camp. “It seems like every time he’s around the puck good things happen,” coach Joel Quenneville said to Blackhawks TV reporter Eric Lear. The Hawks still have many decisions to make, according to Dietz, including whether or not to keep seven or eight defensemen.

Washington Worried About Filling Out Its Defense

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Decimated by losses this offseason, the Washington Capitals are focusing on rebuilding their team as quickly as possible so they can contend once again, but while there is some progress on the offense as some young players have stepped up, there hasn’t been that infusion of new talent on the Capitals’ blueline, writes Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan.

After a disappointing playoff run which ended in the second round to the eventual champion Pittsburgh Penguins, the team endured multiple losses, including Kevin Shattenkirk, Karl Alzner, Justin Williams, Marcus Johansson, Nate Schmidt and Daniel Winnik. All of the losses were due to the fact the team was up against the cap, but the team instead focused on re-signing some of their core, including extending stars Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov and T.J. Oshie.

While the offense seems to have found replacements for their top lines in youngsters like Andre Burakovsky and Jakub Vrana, fixing the defense might be a totally different story, according to Khurshudyan. The scribe writes that Washington head coach Barry Trotz said that no defenseman has stood out so far into training camp to claim the final two spots in the team’s top six. Even with the losses of Shattenkirk, Alzner and Schmidt, the team still has a solid top four in Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik, Orlov and John Carlson. However, the team must fill in those final two spots.

Amongst those defensemen attempting to win one of those two spots is Taylor Chorney, who has been the team’s extra defenseman for the past two years. The team also brought in two of their solid AHL defenseman in Madison Bowey and Christian Djoos, who the team hopes will be ready to take on a new challenge. The team also has several others ready to take a spot, including 2016 first-rounder Lucas Johansen, Aaron Ness, Tyler Lewington, and Connor Hobbs.

Chorney has spent the last two years on the Capitals roster, but has managed to get into 73 games in those two years and just 18 last season. The 30-year-old defenseman accululated 11 points in those two years, but is trying to break the label of journeyman.

Much of their defensive hopefuls come from their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Beras. Bowey, 22, is coming off an injury-shortened season in the AHL after suffering a gruesome ankle injury with the Hershey Bears. He managed to play only 34 games, but has lost 12 pounds and is skating faster than he did a year ago. Many people thought Djoos, 23, had the best shot to make the team’s roster this year as he had a great season for Hershey a year ago. He scored 15 goals and 45 assists for 66 points for them last year. Ness has also been in the Washington system, playing the last two years in Hershey. He also managed to get called up and get into 10 games over the past two years. A quality skater, he has played a total of 39 NHL games over the course of his career. Lewington, 22, played 72 games for the Bears last season, compiling 142 penalty minutes to go with 17 points.

Johansen,19, was the 28th overall pick in the 2016 draft and many feel he might be ready to step into the team’s lineup, while Hobbs, the team’s fifth-round pick in 2015 had a breakout year with his junior team. The 20-year-old prospect, known for his hard shot, had 31 goals and 54 assists with the WHL Regina Pats.

With the team right up against the cap, a trade would seem unlikely to aid the defense. So, the team hopes that two of these defensemen will step up soon to solidify the Capitals defense.

 

 

Daniel Winnik Signs PTO With Minnesota

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The Minnesota Wild have always held defensive responsibility in high regard. All of their forwards are expected to contribute in their own end, with leaders like Mikko Koivu and Nino Niederreiter being among the best two-way players in the game. Now they’ve brought in another winger known for his defensive prowess in Daniel Winnik, who will attend Wild camp on a PTO.

Winnik was listed 36th on our Top 50 Free Agent rankings earlier this summer, but will have to settle instead just for a camp tryout. The 32-year old put up another solid season a year ago, registering 25 points while once again being a solid defensive presence at even strength and on the penalty kill. Winnik is one of the more consistent bottom-six wingers in the league, recording between 19 and 34 points in each of the past eight seasons (including the shortened 2012-13 season).

Minnesota will also be bringing a no longer retired Ryan Malone to camp, with his main goal to earn an AHL contract and Olympic spot. Alex Prewitt of Sports Illustrated goes in depth on Malone’s comeback attempt, and perhaps he’ll be writing a similar story about Winnik in the near future. If he can’t find an NHL job, Winnik would almost certainly be considered for Team Canada at the upcoming Olympics, something that would have seemed far-fetched four years ago. Winnik has never represented Canada at a major international tournament, but is clearly still good enough to make an impact.

A Quiet 2017 Off-Season

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By the time August rolls around each year, it seems like the off-season is dragging on. The July 1st free agent frenzy is long behind us and it’s been weeks since the last major signing. Fans are struggling to get their hockey fill and counting the days until the puck drops on preseason hockey. In 2017, fans have all the more reason to be sick of the off-season. When compared with the summer of 2016, this off-season has simply been boring. It was expected to be as such, but no one could have predicted just how quiet this summer could be.

As of today, August 6th, 2017, there have only been two unrestricted free agents signed to contracts worth more than $6MM per year: Kevin Shattenkirk to the New York Rangers (as predicted) and Alexander Radulov to the Dallas Stars. In contrast, there were four such deals signed on July 1st, 2016 alone. Drop that mark down to contracts worth more than $4MM annually, and you get uninspiring names this year like Evgeni Dadonov, Dmitry Kulikov, Nick Bonino, Karl Alzner, Martin Hanzal, and Steve Mason added to the list; hardly a superstar among them. 2016 saw high-profile players like Milan Lucic, David Backes, Loui Eriksson, Kyle Okposo, and Andrew Ladd all find new homes. Those signings came on the heels of the P.K. Subban – Shea Weber and Taylor Hall – Adam Larsson trades as well. The best swaps 2017 has to offer so far are Travis Hamonic or Marcus Johansson being dealt for draft picks. There have simply been a lack of franchise-altering moves made this summer.

Then you have the timeline of when deals got done. By August last year, the best unsigned free agents were Antoine Vermette, Jiri Hudler, and Jhonas Enroth. The year before, Cody Franson and David Schlemko highlighted the August market. In both cases, NHL teams got their deals done in July, filling the month with exciting signing news. This year? Not so much. Legendary players like Jaromir Jagr, Jarome Iginla, and Shane Doan remain available, alongside other able-bodied contributors like Thomas Vanek, Drew Stafford, and Daniel Winnik. That’s in addition to Franson and Hudler as well. Teams are simply waiting around on this market for reasons unknown. Could it end up as an exciting run of signing in August? Maybe, but don’t count on it.

The weak 2017 free agent market coupled with the challenge of preparing for June’s Expansion Draft has simply resulted in one of quietest off-seasons in recent memory. Several teams still have needs and spots to fill and signings and trades remain possible, but at this point the summer is a lost cause. Time to look forward to next season and even next summer when we *hope* to see the likes of John Tavares, Rick Nash, Evander Kane, James Neal, James van Riemsdyk, Paul Stastny, Mikko Koivu, Cam Atkinson, Jonathan Marchessault, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Mike Green, Jack Johnson, Calvin de Haan, and Antti Raanta all hit the open market. Hopefully that list is enough excitement to get you through the rest of this one.

Free Agent Profile: Daniel Winnik

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Over the past several years, winger Daniel Winnik has carved out a role as a quality bottom-six checking forward with the ability to score a few goals here and there as well.  Despite his reputation though, he still finds himself unsigned more than a month into free agency.

Apr 21, 2017; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Capitals right wing Daniel Winnik (26) skates with the puck against the Toronto Maple Leafs in game five of the first round of the 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports2016-17 was actually a career year for the 32-year-old in terms of goal production as he potted a dozen goals while it was the first time he hit the double digit mark since 2010-11 with Colorado.  He also accomplished that while averaging just under 13 minutes per game, the lowest ATOI of his career.  He was a regular in Washington’s postseason lineup although he failed to hit the scoresheet in any of their 13 postseason contests.

While his overall ice time dropped, it didn’t affect his usage when it came to the penalty kill.  Winnik logged 2:31 per game shorthanded, the second highest among forwards for the Capitals (only behind Jay Beagle).  Washington ranked seventh in the league in that department.

What may be working against him a bit here is his contract history.  While the league has continued to trend towards going cheaper with bottom forwards, Winnik has managed to buck that trend in each of his three trips through free agency already, most recently landing a two year, $4.5MM deal from the Caps in the summer of 2015.  At this stage of free agency, he’s likely not going to be able to command that type of money so teams may be waiting to see how low he may go.

Potential Suitors

Generally speaking, there are two types of potential fits depending on what Winnik is looking to accomplish.  If he’s looking to find a soft landing spot on a one-year deal in the hopes of getting a better contract next summer, then looking to a team with less depth on the wing that could give him more playing time.  Florida, New Jersey, and Colorado are teams in that situation and if they’re out of the hunt by the trade deadline, he could be flipped for a draft pick as a rental player.

The other possible fit is trying to find a contending team that would see him as more of a depth penalty kill specialist, similar to the role he had with the Capitals.  Teams that are in that situation are Calgary, San Jose, and even Washington although Winnik would have to take a substantial pay cut to stick with the Caps.

Projected Contract

Back in June, Winnik ranked 34th on our Top 50 Free Agents list with a projected two-year, $3.5MM contract.  With the market drying up both in terms of possible fits and money available to spend, it’s not likely that he will be able to land a contract like that.  A one-year pact worth between $1MM and $1.25MM is where his market is at this point although like most free agents at this stage, going the international route to maintain Olympic eligibility is certainly a possibility as well.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

All Quiet On The Veteran Front

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The NHL offseason has been an interesting one. With plenty of intrigue around the Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft, and speculation that they’d flip half the team immediately after, the returns were relatively unspectacular. A fifth-round pick here, a second-rounder there. For all the excitement it has seemed like the market is somewhat saturated with middling players at the moment. No one is going to pay a premium for an average player, when the new NHL is so skewed to the talents of the youth each team has already in their system.

The same can be said for the free agent market. After coming out blazing on day one, the market quickly cooled and has left some veteran players on the outside looking in. Several players whose age starts with a three (and some with a four) are still sitting on the sidelines, waiting for an opportunity to open up. There is plenty of talent still to be had, if they would agree for the right price.

Jaromir Jagr

The ageless one is obviously the first that anyone notices when looking at a list of free agents. Jagr put up 46 points last season and is still an excellent possession player, shielding the puck down low like he has a trademark on it. A career-low shooting percentage kept his goal total down at 16, but he easily could have had another 20-goal season had it been anywhere near his normal rate. Some of that may come from a loss of power, accuracy or even of the ability to get to the prime scoring areas but he still generates positive chances when he’s on the ice.

Kevin Kurz of NBC did a Q&A on Twitter today and was asked about Jagr’s fit in San Jose, responding that if he is looking for just $2-3MM he could be a fit. That may not be that far-fetched, as Jagr has signed for as little as $2MM in base salary in the past. A contract filled with performance bonuses is clearly the way to go here.

Thomas Vanek

Why is the league so afraid of Vanek? After being bought out by the Wild last year, Vanek had to settle for just $2.6MM from the Detroit Red Wings on a sort of prove-it deal. Well, what didn’t he prove? In 68 games split between the Red Wings and Panthers, Vanek registered 48 points and showed he can still work on the powerplay and in limited minutes. His defensive deficiencies are readily apparent, but can easily be explained away by the offense he creates in a sheltered role. Both contenders and rebuilders could use him, if even as a trade chip for next year.

Daniel Winnik

No one is ever going to mistake Winnik for an offensive dynamo, but he’s proven to be an excellent defensive forward for years and could still help many teams. If you have a fourth-line winger spot that’s being filled by an unproven rookie who may need some more seasoning, Winnik is the guy for you. He’s effective in limited minutes, can penalty kill, and for some reason is worth a second-round pick at the deadline. 25 points from a guy who plays less than 12 minutes of even strength ice time is pretty darn effective.

Cody Franson

We seem to get a question every week about Franson in our live chats, and he continues to be one of the most pondered players in the league. What is he exactly? Can he legitimately be the possession-driving borderline top-4 player he once was, or is he an extreme defensive liability that can only work on average teams? If you go by analytics Franson had another solid season for Buffalo, and recorded 19 points in 68 games. His market still seems to be invisible, though with the recent injury to Jakob Chychrun in Arizona, Sarah McLellan of AZ Central suggests that the Coyotes might look at him as a veteran replacement to help lengthen out their back end.

Other unsigned veterans include Drew Stafford, Brian Gionta, Francois Beauchemin, Ryan White, Jiri Hudler, and P.A. Parenteau all who could still have an impact in the right situation.

Top Ten Remaining UFAs

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Before NHL free agency opened up this summer, PHR published a list of the top-50 NHL UFAs. Two weeks into the offseason and the majority have signed deals—leaving 18 out of 50 still looking for a new NHL contract.  Below are the top ten players still on the market:

[initial writeups credited to PHR’s Gavin Lee]

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