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Derick Brassard

Derick Brassard Acquired By Edmonton Oilers

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The Edmonton Oilers have acquired forward Derick Brassard from the Philadelphia Flyers, per Sportsnet’s Mark Spector. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug reports that the return is a fourth-round pick going back to Philadelphia, while The Athletic’s Charlie O’Connor confirms that the draft pick is in 2023.

Most of Edmonton’s bottom-six forward group had a rough start to the year, but a recent hot streak has changed a lot of that. Players like Derek Ryan are starting to heat up, but still, others (like Warren Foegele) have disappointed this season. Now, the team has another veteran in the fold in the form of Brassard to add some offensive depth.

Brassard, for now, likely replaces Devin Shore as the team’s third-line center. When healthy, he’s produced well in Philadelphia this year, notching 16 points in 31 games, a tad over a half-point-per-game pace. That’s a significant upgrade on the production of any player Edmonton currently has on their third and fourth lines, and with only surrendering a fourth-round pick to add him, this is a solid trade for general manager Ken Holland.

Brassard will now suit up for his seventh team in the past four seasons.

Metropolitan Notes: Texier, Flyers, Capitals

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While Blue Jackets forward Alexandre Texier was originally expected to miss four weeks with a finger injury (a time period that has come and gone), Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch reports (Twitter link) that the 22-year-old is still a few weeks away from returning.  Texier is having the best season of his career so far with 11 goals and nine assists in 36 games but this injury will have taken away that momentum.

Texier has found his name in recent trade speculation with teams calling about him but the injury won’t help things on that front either.  On that front, Hedger adds in a follow-up tweet that the team has no interest in moving him.  He has long been viewed as a future building block for the Blue Jackets and since he has shown some promising signs in his development this season, it’s understandable that they’d want to keep him around.

More from the Metropolitan:

  • Prior to their game this afternoon against Washington, the Flyers announced (Twitter link) that they’ve activated winger Joel Farabee and center Derick Brassard off injured reserve. Farabee has missed a little more than a month due to an upper-body injury but is still tied for third on Philadelphia in goals with 11 in 33 games.  Brassard, meanwhile, has been battling hip issues all season long but has managed to pick up 11 points in 20 games.  If Brassard can stay healthy, he could be a trade candidate for a team looking to add some depth before the trade deadline.  Meanwhile, Sam Carchidi of Philly Hockey Now adds that center Kevin Hayes could return late next week after being out for more than a month with an adductor injury.
  • While Washington has very limited cap space that’s entirely based on Anthony Mantha’s LTIR placement, both J.J. Regan and Andrew Gillis of NBC Sports Washington believe that the Capitals need to find a way to add an impact goaltender by next month’s trade deadline. Vitek Vanecek is currently injured and while Ilya Samsonov was able to play this afternoon despite appearing to suffer an injury in the warmup, he has struggled with inconsistency this season.  They’ve been previously linked to Chicago’s Marc-Andre Fleury but would likely need to get Chicago to retain half of his $7MM contract plus a third-party facilitator to take on another 25% of the contract to have a chance at fitting him into their cap structure.

East Notes: Chara, Hamilton, Dahlin, Brassard

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The Islanders are starting to receive trade interest in veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara, Pierre LeBrun reports in the latest TSN Insider Trading segment.  While the 44-year-old is no longer the top pairing player he was for a lot of his time in Boston, some contending teams could use him as a shutdown and penalty kill player in a limited role.  He carries a $750K AAV although there are bonuses of up to another $750K in the existing deal but those could roll over and be applied on next year’s cap with the bonus cushion.  While Chara doesn’t have any trade protection, LeBrun adds that GM Lou Lamoriello will go to the veteran to see if he indeed wants to move.  He has seven assists in 42 games this season while still averaging over 18 minutes a game.

More from the Eastern Conference:

  • New Jersey is set to get blueliner Dougie Hamilton back on Thursday, notes NHL.com’s Mike Morreale. The veteran has missed the last 17 games due to a broken jaw although he still sits second in scoring by Devils defenders with 20 points in 30 games.  New Jersey is currently carrying a full roster and will need to make a move in order to free up a spot to activate Hamilton from IR.
  • The Sabres should have defenseman Rasmus Dahlin back in the lineup on Wednesday in Montreal after he missed Sunday’s game with an upper-body injury, relays Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald. The 21-year-old is on pace to surpass his career highs offensively from back in his rookie season as he already has 33 points in 49 games this season while logging just shy of 24 minutes a game.
  • The Flyers have transferred center Derick Brassard to injured reserve, CapFriendly reports (Twitter link). The placement was not backdated so it appears the veteran – who has battled hip injuries all season long – will miss at least another week.    Brassard played in one game two weeks ago after coming back from hip trouble and clearly, the injury hasn’t fully healed yet.  When healthy, he has been productive with 11 points in 20 games.

Snapshots: Vanecek, Rierden, Brassard, Scandella

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Although the Capitals find themselves comfortably in a playoff spot, goaltending has been an issue for them at times this season.  Both Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov have had chances at starting and at other times, they’ve platooned when both are healthy.  Speaking with J.J. Regan of NBC Sports Washington, head coach Peter Laviolette indicated that he’d like to give Vanecek a chance to run with the number one job when he returns from his upper-body injury with the hope of solidifying their netminding before the playoffs.  While Washington has very limited cap space to work with, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them keep tabs on the goalie market for the time being in case Vanecek isn’t able to play with consistency which was an issue for him in the first half of the season.

More from the around the NHL:

  • Penguins assistant coach Todd Rierden is out indefinitely after suffering a knee injury when he slipped on ice while shoveling during the All-Star break, notes Johnny McGonigal of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He is set to undergo surgery on Monday.  Matt Cullen, who works in Pittsburgh’s player development department, will join up with the team on Monday to help with their power play.
  • Flyers center Derick Brassard missed today’s game due to soreness, relays Giana Han of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). The veteran has dealt with lingering hip issues all season long that has caused him to miss time on three separate occasions.  Head coach Mike Yeo indicated that the decision to give him the game off was so that he wouldn’t have to “go through all that” again so it appears they’re taking some precautions to avoid another extended absence.  When healthy, Brassard has done well this season with 11 points in 20 games.
  • Blues defenseman Marco Scandella has a lower-body injury that will keep him out either day-to-day or week-to-week, notes team reporter Chris Pinkert. The injury was sustained on Thursday against New Jersey.  Scandella had played in every game this season although his 17:29 ATOI is the lowest of any of his full seasons.  With that strange of a designation, it seems reasonable to suggest that he’ll miss at least a couple of games.

Philadelphia Flyers Add Three To COVID Protocol

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The Philadelphia Flyers have added Derick Brassard, Carter Hart, and Scott Laughton to the COVID protocol, making them unavailable for the time being. Max Willman, who had previously been in the protocol, was activated today and rejoined the team at practice. Jackson Cates, Gerald Mayhew, and Felix Sandstrom have been recalled to join the team’s taxi squad.

Losing Brassard and Laughton certainly isn’t ideal, but Hart is the biggest blow for the Flyers today. The young netminder has rebounded this season and carries a .918 save percentage through 19 appearances, carrying the majority of the load for the team. Martin Jones will now become the de facto starter for the time being, though the group in front of him is certainly not at full strength.

The Flyers are now at seven players in the COVID protocol, as Brassard, Hart, and Laughton join Kevin Hayes, Ryan Ellis, Sean Couturier, and Morgan Frost. Those are some pretty important names that could be unavailable when the team is scheduled to return to action Wednesday night.

Department Of Player Safety Fines Derick Brassard For Unsportsmanlike Conduct

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The NHL Department of Player Safety today fined Philadelphia Flyers forward Derick Brassard $2,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct toward the Washington Capitals’ Garnet Hathaway during a game Saturday night, as announced today.

The play in question involved Brassard delivering a punch to Hathaway’s face while standing on the Flyers bench. Hathaway was on the ice. Brassard was given an interference penalty on the play.

Brassard has stepped up in a big way for the Flyers this season, scoring two goals and five assists for seven points in 10 games during his first season as a Flyer. Brassard has seen an elevated role in the absence of the injured Kevin Hayes, centering the team’s second line between Joel Farabee and Cam Atkinson.

The 34-year-old joined the team by signing a one-year, $825,000 contract on August 25. The Flyers are his sixth different team during the past four seasons. Brassard spent last season with the Arizona Coyotes, scoring just eight goals and 20 points, his lowest totals since his rookie season in 2007-08.

Derick Brassard Signs With Philadelphia Flyers

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The Philadelphia Flyers have found another depth forward to add to the mix, signing Derick Brassard to a one-year deal. It will cost the team just $825K at the NHL level, meaning Brassard is making barely more than the league minimum this season as he looks to continue his career.

Brassard, 33, is certainly well known to the Philadelphia coaching staff, having played several years for Alain Vigneault with the New York Rangers. In fact, those years in New York were the best of his career, posting highs of 60 points and 27 goals. Those are numbers Brassard hasn’t come close to in recent years, including 2020-21 when he had just eight goals and 20 points in 53 games for the Arizona Coyotes.

Still, you do worse than a veteran of 905 regular season games for $825K. Brassard has more than 500 career points, has experience at both center and wing, and has suited up 117 times in the postseason. For a Flyers team hoping young players like Morgan Frost can take a step forward this season, Brassard represents a nice insurance policy.

The overall makeup of the Philadelphia roster is a lot different than a year ago. Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Ristolainen, Keith Yandle, Cam Atkinson, and now Brassard have all been added, giving the team a huge boost of experience. Whether they are actually better than a year ago remains to be seen, but GM Chuck Fletcher is certainly not sitting on his hands after a disappointing year.

For Brassard, it’s been a steady downhill ride in terms of salary since he finished his five-year, $25MM contract in 2019. He signed a one-year, $1.2MM contract in 2019-20, a $1.0MM deal in 2020-21, and now an $825K contract this season. If he has anything left, he actually could provide a nice little bit of excess value on this cheap deal. If not, there’s not much risk for the Flyers.

Free Agent Profile: Derick Brassard

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For the third straight year, veteran center Derick Brassard finds himself still looking for a contract well after the free agent market opened up.  Not much has changed for him over that stretch and he remains a depth offensive option for teams to consider in the coming weeks.

Last season, the 33-year-old caught on with the Coyotes just as training camps were on the horizon, inking a one-year, $1MM contract.  Brassard spent the majority of the campaign in a middle-six role, mostly on the third line but moving up to the second when needed.  It’s basically the role he has held for the past few years and the results were pretty much the same.

Brassard’s per game output dipped a bit compared to his 2019-20 showing but still managed to pick up 20 points, putting him in a tie for the player with the most points still standing on the free agent market (Kyle Palmieri had more but is believed to have an agreement with the Islanders).  He has even chipped in on the power play (seven goals over the last two years) and has won nearly 54% of his faceoffs over that stretch.

So why is he once again looking for a contract?  Brassard’s defensive zone play has never been a strong point and while that was okay earlier in his career when he was putting up 40 or more points, teams aren’t as willing to give him playing time with him producing less.  His own-zone performance isn’t going to suddenly improve so these year-to-year deals are likely what it’s going to continue to be for Brassard.

Stats

2020-21: 53 GP, 8-12-20, -10 rating, 12 PIMS, 67 shots, 50.0 CF%, 14:48 ATOI
Career: 905 GP, 194-309-503, -35 rating, 419 PIMS, 1,781 shots, 50.2 CF%, 16:05 ATOI

Potential Suitors

There are a couple of possible types of suitors for Brassard at this stage.  The first is a team that is looking for a bit more depth down the middle and doesn’t want to pay up for someone like Tyler Bozak.  The other is a team with some young centers that wants either an insurance policy or to bring him in to allow one of those pivots to spend more time in the minors.

In the first group, Seattle is down their top center for the first few months with Yanni Gourde out following shoulder surgery and while they signed Marcus Johansson who can fill in down the middle, Brassard, a natural center, could be a better fit.  Montreal lost Phillip Danault with the only replacement down the middle being Cedric Paquette who spent most of last season as a winger.  With an inexperienced group at center, Brassard could replace someone like Eric Staal who was acquired midseason from Buffalo.  Minnesota still doesn’t have a particularly strong group at center, particularly when it comes to offensive upside and Brassard would give them another option without breaking the bank for the eventual Kirill Kaprizov contract.

The second group features teams that aren’t likely to make the playoffs.  Columbus, where his career started after they made him the sixth-overall pick 15 years ago, is firmly in a rebuild and are banking on some unproven players making the jump.  Brassard would be an insurance policy and with Max Domi out to start the year, he could have a lineup spot at the start.  Anaheim has forced some of their younger players in when they haven’t been ready which hasn’t worked particularly from a development standpoint.  Brassard’s presence could allow someone to spend more time with AHL San Diego.  As for Ottawa, they’re believed to be sniffing around for a veteran forward and with Chris Tierney being in trade speculation dating back to last season and entering the final year of his deal, Brassard would be a low-cost option to carry in case they wind up moving Tierney at some point.

Projected Contract

Brassard has made our Top 50 UFA list in the past but didn’t this time around.  He made $1MM last season and $1.2MM the year before.  Another small dip at this stage is likely and a one-year deal for the veteran should check in somewhere around $900K.  At a price tag that could be buried entirely in the minors, he’ll be a low-risk pickup for whoever winds up signing him in the coming weeks.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NHL Not Opposed To Third-Party Salary Retention In Trades

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Perhaps the story of the NHL Trade Deadline, since it certainly wasn’t the quantity of trades or the numerous star players on the move, was the advent of the third-party salary cap broker in trades. Three different deals were made at the deadline that included three teams, with the third team strictly being used as a means to retain salary on the centerpiece player moving to a contender short on cap space. In each one, the third team retained the maximum 50% of salary after the seller had also retained 50%, leaving the buyer with just 25% of the player’s cap value. For their part, the third team received a draft pick from the buyer and were able to shed a minor league salary as well.

The Tampa Bay Lightning first used the Detroit Red Wings to broker the trade of defenseman David Savard from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Tampa had been expected to be quiet at the deadline given their miniscule cap space, but ended up getting one of the best defensemen on the rental market. Next, the Toronto Maple Leafs employed the San Jose Sharks as the middle-man for their acquisition of Nick Foligno, again from the Blue Jackets. Toronto had little cap flexibility and a long shopping list at the deadline and would not have been able to add Foligno without help. Finally, San Jose volunteered to be the third team again the deal that sent Mattias Janmark from the Chicago Blackhawks to the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas has had the worst cap situation of any team in the league this season, restricted from making standard roster moves and several times forced into short-handed lineups. Yet, using this new three-team retention format they were able to add a top rental.

This all poses a question that at least a few other NHL clubs have been asking: should this be legal? The NHL has cracked down on salary cap circumvention in the past and there appear to be some who believe this is simply the newest version, allowing cap-strapped contenders to acquire players that they never could otherwise. However, according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun on the latest edition of “Insider Trading“, this is one perceived problem that the league will not tackle. LeBrun reports that the league has been well are of this method of trade and were not fooled by the deals made at the deadline this year. After all, it was more than three years ago now when the Pittsburgh Penguins seemingly invented this formula – albeit in a more complete hockey trade – in the Derick Brassard deadline deal with Vegas and the Ottawa Senators. The Golden Knights then used the format to their advantage just last year, adding Robin Lehner from the Blackhawks via a cap-retention pitstop in Toronto. Clearly, there is a group of teams who have taken to this specific style of three-team trade, with Vegas and Toronto chief among them, and there are others who are not happy about it. As such, the NHL has already done its due diligence on the legality and will not take action.

Their reasoning? There simply is no cap circumvention occurring here. LeBrun relays that the league has no issue with a third team being used solely for cap retention, as hockey capital is being acquired by all parties. The Red Wings and Sharks received mid-round draft picks in exchange for their assistance and were even allowed to help balance the checkbook by sending out another contract. The NHL feels that this is a valid use of cap space as an asset to make a legitimate trade. So while it does create situations in which the rich get richer without otherwise having the cap space to do so, all parties are being reasonably compensated within the NHL rulebook. Teams may not like it, but that doesn’t make it illegal. And with the flat cap environment likely to continue for another year or two, this style of trade isn’t going away any time soon.

Arizona Coyotes Sign Derick Brassard

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December 30: Morgan reports that Brassard’s deal will be for one-year and $1.2MM in Arizona, while CapFriendly tweets that it is just for $1MM. The Coyotes have officially announced the term of the contract, though did not confirm the financial details. GM Bill Armstrong released a short statement on his new forward:

We are very pleased to welcome Derick to our Pack. Derick is an experienced, skilled forward who can play center or wing and contribute offensively. He is also very effective in the face-off circle. We look forward to having him in our lineup this season.

December 28: Phil Kessel and Derick Brassard, together again. Originally reported by former NHL forward Guillaume Latendresse and subsequently confirmed by several others including Craig Morgan of AZ Coyotes Insider, the Arizona Coyotes are working on a one-year deal with Brassard, an unrestricted free agent.

The 33-year-old Brassard experienced something of a career renaissance last season, finding a role with the New York Islanders and recording 32 points in 66 games. He was a strong performer in the postseason bubble as well, scoring eight points in 18 games for the Islanders even while averaging just 12 minutes a night. That came after a dreadful 2018-19 campaign that saw him struggle with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, and Colorado Avalanche, scoring just 23 points combined for the three teams. By signing with the Coyotes, Brassard would be joining the eighth NHL team of his career and fifth in just over two years.

Arizona recently sent Derek Stepan—a former teammate of Brassard’s—to the Ottawa Senators, opening up some room down the middle for a veteran player on a more inexpensive deal. Brassard is certainly that, and actually still does come with a long history of offensive success. A two-time 20-goal scorer, Brassard has registered at least 40 points in a season on six different occasions and has recorded double-digit goal totals in each of the last ten seasons. While his ability to play at the top of a lineup may have diminished, he still represents a solid depth add for the Coyotes as they try to get back to the playoffs.

Not only will he provide some offense and veteran depth, but if the Coyotes decide to pull the plug at any point this season he could be another trade asset. The team already has Alex Goligoski, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jason Demers, Jordan Oesterle, Ilya Lyubushkin, Drake Caggiula, and Antti Raanta on expiring deals, meaning the trade deadline could be used as a reset button to restock a draft cupboard that has been ravaged in recent years.

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