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Devin Shore

Oilers Re-Sign Devin Shore

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The Oilers have taken care of one of their pending restricted free agents as they announced the re-signing of forward Devin Shore to a two-year contract.  The deal carries an AAV of $850K with CapFriendly clarifying (Twitter link) that he will make the league minimum of $750K next season and $950K in 2022-23.

The 26-year-old was non-tendered last fall by Columbus and had to settle for a PTO deal with Edmonton in late December, one that he was able to convert to a two-way contract.  Shore wound up spending most of the season with the Oilers, getting into 38 games where he had five goals and four assists.  While he did clear waivers a couple of times as Edmonton shuffled several veterans back and forth from their taxi squad, he clearly made enough of an impression to stick around, earning himself a one-way deal in the process.

Shore spent most of this past season in a depth role, often playing on the fourth line when he was in the lineup and it stands to reason that he’ll have a similar role throughout this contract.  The Oilers, like many teams, will be relying on cheap depth to free up a little bit of wiggle room on the salary cap and that will allow Shore to stick around for a couple more years.

GM Ken Holland still has plenty of work to get to before free agency begins.  He has a trio of other restricted free agents to re-sign while 11 others will soon see their contracts expire as pending unrestricted free agents so there should be several signings to come over the coming weeks.

North Notes: Canucks, Muzzin, Shore, Canadiens

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The Canucks are a team that’s going to be looking to free up some cap room this summer and their situation for next season just got a bit more challenging.  PuckPedia reports (Twitter link) that as a result of Quinn Hughes maxing out on his bonuses and Nils Hoglander hitting a games played-related bonus, Vancouver will be facing a $649K bonus overage penalty heading into next season.  With the team being in LTIR for the entire year, they were unable to bank any cap room throughout the season which means that full amount is added to their 2021-22 payroll.

More from the North Division:

  • The Maple Leafs have not yet ruled out defenseman Jake Muzzin for Monday’s seventh game against Montreal, head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters including Postmedia’s Terry Koshan. The blueliner left Saturday’s game midway through the second period with a lower-body injury and the team is awaiting results on testing to determine his availability moving forward.  If Muzzin is unable to play, Rasmus Sandin would likely return to the lineup to replace him.
  • The usage of Devin Shore in their final two postseason games suggests that the Oilers will try to retain him this summer, suggests Kurt Leavins of the Edmonton Journal. While Shore has arbitration eligibility, he also cleared waivers twice in the year and managed just nine points in 39 games so it’s unlikely he’d command much more than the $735K qualifying offer that he’s owed to stick around.  Edmonton will need some cheap depth for next season and he could fit in that role for another year.
  • Canadiens winger Artturi Lehkonen took part in an optional skate today but was in a non-contact jersey, relays TVA Sports’ Renaud Lavoie (Twitter link). As a result, his availability for Monday’s game against Toronto appears to be in jeopardy.  He has been out since suffering an upper-body injury in the third game of the series.  Montreal’s AHL affiliate in Laval also announced (Twitter link) that they’ve re-signed Tobie Paquette-Bisson to a one-year, one-way AHL contract.  The blueliner played in 28 games with the Rocket this season.

Devin Shore Clears Waivers

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Feb 17: Shore has cleared waivers and can be assigned to the taxi squad or minor leagues.

Feb 16: The Edmonton Oilers have placed another depth forward on waivers, this time moving Devin Shore there. The team has recently seen Tyler Ennis, Alex Chiasson, and James Neal all clear. Even Shore was already waived at the beginning of the season, but his clock had expired and he needed to be waived again if the Oilers want to move him to the taxi squad or minor leagues.

Shore, 26, has three points in 11 games this season, despite averaging fewer than nine minutes of ice time. The journeyman, who has now played for four different organizations through his first 299 games, doesn’t offer a ton of upside but had at least recorded an assist in two of his last three games. Among the potential taxi squad replacements are Neal, who cleared waivers just two days ago, Patrick Russell, who still doesn’t have an NHL goal in 52 games, and Joakim Nygard, who has played in just four games this season.

Once again, the Oilers found themselves unable to outscore their defensive troubles last night, losing 6-5 to the Winnipeg Jets. Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith both struggled in net, stopping just 18 of 24 shots between them. Tyson Barrie, who has never been known for his defensive acumen, ended up playing nearly 31 minutes.

Finding a fit for the bottom-six is crucial if the Oilers want to really compete in the North Division. Just three forwards have even ten points on the season so far, just four have more than five. Despite Shore’s inexpensive contract, he seems destined to go unclaimed.

Zack Kassian Placed On Long-Term Injured Reserve

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On Monday, Edmonton Oilers head coach Dave Tippett told reporters including Ryan Rishaug of TSN it was an “understatement” that the team wanted to see Zack Kassian get “a bit more engaged” in games this season. The physical forward had just two minor penalties heading into last night’s game but quickly proved to his coach and teammates that he was still willing to drop the mitts. Kassian fought Erik Gudbranson less than two minutes into the game and the team would go on to win 3-1, but Kassian wouldn’t see the ice again.

Leaving after the fight, Kassian played just 33 seconds and this morning Tippett said he would not play in the rematch tonight. The coach described his absence as week-to-week, though he is still undergoing further evaluation. Meanwhile, CapFriendly reports that Kassian has been placed on long-term injured reserve today thanks to some cap gymnastics the Oilers needed to perform, meaning he’ll miss at least ten games.

Kassian did have 29 hits in 12 games before last night, but had scored just a single goal and registered just three points. That isn’t good enough for a player who received another early chance to line up next to Connor McDavid and his ice time had been slashed heavily in recent games because of it. That means his absence won’t be too noticeable, but it does just test the Oilers’ depth even further. The team has recalled Devin Shore from the taxi squad in the meantime.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Seven Players Clear Waivers

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Jan 14: All seven players have cleared waivers and can report to a taxi squad or the minor leagues.

Jan 13: The first day of the hockey season is upon us and waivers are still jam-packed. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports that Par Lindholm (BOS), Devin Shore (EDM), Dmytro Timashov (NYI), Boo Nieves (TBL), Craig Anderson (WSH), Rodrigo Abols (FLA), and Kevin Connauton (FLA) are on waivers today.

Of course, several of these players did not have official contracts filed before today, meaning they now do.

Washington Capitals reporter Mike Vogel tweets that the team has signed Anderson to a one-year deal after bringing him into camp on a professional tryout. The deal will carry an average annual value of $700K. He will report to the team’s practice squad if he clears waivers. The Capitals have already announced that the team will go with Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek to start the season, but Anderson certainly provides a lot of experience at the position if anything goes sideways. The 39-year-old goaltender has 648 games played in his long career and carries a save percentage of .913.

Shore and Nieves are both brand new signings that their teams announced, both two-way contracts worth around $700K. Nieves’ deal was announced yesterday by the Tampa Bay Lightning, while the Edmonton Oilers announced Shore’s deal earlier this morning.

Timashov and Connauton were also both unsigned as of today, though it was clear that both had earned contracts already. The New York Islanders have been very coy with all of their training camp deals, while the Florida Panthers had kept Connauton with the group on a professional tryout. Their official contracts should be announced at some point today, given they are now on waivers.

Devin Shore Signs With Edmonton Oilers

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He’s earned a spot. Devin Shore that is, who today signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Edmonton Oilers after attending training camp on a professional tryout. Shore will earn $700K at the NHL level but is on waivers today to give the Oilers more flexibility in his placement. If he clears, he would be able to be placed on the taxi squad or sent to the minor leagues.

The 26-year-old Shore scored just 12 points last season but does represent an NHL option for a team that is trying to add depth up front for a postseason run. The versatile forward has played 288 games at the highest level and actually hasn’t spent any time in the minor leagues since the 2015-16 season. The fact that he was flipped for Sonny Milano last season surely isn’t forgotten, given that he could be a deadline chip for the Oilers again this year if things don’t go according to plan.

It’s unlikely that he plays in the majority of the games this season, but Edmonton’s fourth line is certainly not written in ink at this point. Even Jujhar Khaira, who was signed to a two-year $2.4MM deal in 2019 was put on (and cleared) waivers recently and could find himself on the outside looking in at some point. Shore’s relative youth combined with his ability to penalty kill makes him an attractive option, even if it is just bottom-six depth.

Edmonton Oilers Sign Devin Shore, Ryan Stanton To Professional Tryouts

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The Edmonton Oilers are bringing some veteran players to training camp, signing both Devin Shore and Ryan Stanton to professional tryouts.

Shore, 26, spent the first part of last season with the Anaheim Ducks before a deadline deal sent him to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for Sonny Milano. In all, he ended up playing 45 games and recording 12 points, but did also suit up for two postseason matches in the bubble. A veteran of nearly 300 NHL games, Shore’s best offensive production came back in 2016-17 with the Dallas Stars when he scored 13 goals and 33 points.

Stanton meanwhile has a lot less NHL experience but has been a pro for a decade now. The 31-year-old defenseman first hit the AHL in 2010 after going undrafted and has 120 games at the NHL level, mostly with the Vancouver Canucks. Last season he spent the entire year with the Ontario Reign of the AHL, scoring five points in 36 games.

While Stanton seems an unlikely candidate for much NHL time, he does have experience with the Oilers organization. Before playing for Ontario, he spent two years with the Bakersfield Condors. That could be where he ends up even if he earns an NHL contract in camp. Shore though could potentially be a depth forward for the Oilers, or perhaps a taxi squad player capable of stepping into the lineup in a pinch. He’ll have to earn that NHL deal to do it, but given his history it’s certainly not out of the question.

Columbus Blue Jackets Issue Qualifying Offers

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced which restricted free agents will receive qualifying offers, with few surprises. Josh Anderson, Gabriel Carlsson, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Vladislav Gavrikov, Matiss Kivlenieks, Ryan MacInnis, Kevin Stenlund and Calvin Thurkauf have all received qualifying offers from the team and will remain in the organization.

That means Devin Shore, Maxime Fortier, Justin Scott, Paul Bittner, Michael Prapavessis and Ryan Collins did not, making them unrestricted free agents on Friday.

The only real surprise is Shore, and only because the Blue Jackets acquired him this season in exchange for Sonny Milano. The 26-year-old Shore has not been particularly effective since the 2017-18 campaign, splitting the last two seasons between three teams and recording just 12 points in 2019-20. Add in the fact that he was due a $2.4MM qualifying offer in order to remain with the Blue Jackets and it’s not hard to see why the team decided to cut bait.

Still, Shore could represent a cheap depth signing for a team this offseason if they think he can be of use to a bottom-six. The 26-year-old forward has experience at center and on the wing and has scored double-digit goals in three different seasons.

Bittner and Collins may also bring a twinge of disappointment to Blue Jackets fans, given they were both second-round selections that never seemed to pan out. Bittner especially was hyped coming off a successful junior career but failed to score much in the AHL. Collins, the 47th pick in 2014, never added any offense to his defensive game and could only rely on his size for so long.

Free Agent Focus: Columbus Blue Jackets

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With free agency now just a couple weeks away, teams are looking ahead to when it opens up.  There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. While the Columbus Blue Jackets have no UFA’s of note, they still have their work cut out for them with a laundry list of RFA’s, including several core players.

Key Restricted Free Agents

F Pierre-Luc Dubois – Getting Dubois, 22, locked up long-term is the core objective of the Blue Jackets’ off-season. Over the three seasons of his entry-level contract, Dubois totaled 158 points in 234 games, including a 61-point campaign in 2018-19 and a 57-point pace this season. He also wrapped up his contract on a high note, recording ten points in ten playoff games this year. For a team that is lacking in center depth and elite scoring talent, Dubois is critical to the short-term and long-term success of the Blue Jackets.

The problem is balancing Dubois’ long-term potential and dollar value with the team’s limited cap space for next season With no unrestricted free agents departing the lineup, the Blue Jackets have limited funds to work with against the flat cap. Yet, they also don’t want to settle for a more affordable short-term contract and risk Dubois continuing to improve and increasing his price on a new contract. Negotiations are already underway and the goal stated by both sides is to stick with a lengthy term and to get the deal done before free agency opens to provide the club with some cap clarity.

If a long-term extension can be reached, don’t be surprised to see an AAV of upwards of $8MM or more. If the two sides instead opt for a short-term deal given the fiscal constraints of the current NHL economy, Dubois is still likely set to make $6.5MM or more against the cap on his next deal.

F Josh Anderson – It’s difficult to know where the status quo lies between the Blue Jackets and Anderson. The last time that these two sides sat down to negotiate a contract, it was a contentious affair that ended in a late-summer, below-market contract that left Anderson unhappy and fueled trade rumors. Those flames were stoked by a 27-goal, 47-point season for Andersson in 2018-19 in which the young power forward greatly outplayed his contract. Yet, the tables turned again this season, as Anderson missed much of the year due to injury and was unproductive even when active. The season tanked Anderson’s trade value and at least some of his bargaining power and left his future with Columbus up in the air.

The latest twist in this saga was Anderson’s recent proclamation that he hopes to sign long-term in Columbus. This runs counter to his previous sentiment, but could end up working in the Blue Jackets’ favor. Given their cap crunch this off-season, the team could benefit from deflating the AAV on an Andersson extension by extending the term. Anderson could also return to form and again be a bargain for the club. The risk of course is that his injury troubles persist or he is unable to rediscover his scoring touch. Given the uncertainty of this off-season and Andersson’s health and performance, this seems like a case that is more likely to be settled in salary arbitration than with a long-term deal. While a one-year arbitrator’s decision might risk Andersson leaving as an unrestricted free agent next summer, the Blue Jackets would likely be happy to get an affordable deal done for Anderson and to have another year to consider whether they want to re-sign or trade the big winger.

D Vladislav Gavrikov – Since joining Columbus in the 2019 playoffs, Gavrikov has done nothing but prove that he is a solid two-way defenseman. While his lack of NHL experience makes it difficult to project his long-term value, Gavrikov has at least earned a raise and some security in his next contract. It’s unclear what the expectations are for Gavrikov’s new deal, but the Blue Jackets have all of the leverage. Due to his limited experience, Gavrikov falls under Section 10.2(c) of the CBA as a restricted free agent who is not eligible to sign an offer sheet. Barring a trade, Columbus is the only NHL team that Gavrikov can play for and they can more or less dictate the terms of the next contract. With that said, Gavrikov has proven to be a reliable top-four defenseman and the Blue Jackets are not going to play games. Expect the team to work out a short-term deal with Gavrikov and potentially trade one of their other seven one-way defensemen to cement his role as a core piece on the blue line.

Other RFAs: F Paul Bittner, F Marko Dano, F Maxime Fortier, F Jakob Lilja, F Ryan MacInnis, F Justin Scott, F Devin Shore, F Kole Sherwood, F Calvin Thurkauf, D Gabriel Carlsson, D Ryan Collins, D Michael Prapavessis, G Matiss Kivlenieks

UFAs: D Dillon Simpson, D Doyle Somerby

Projected Cap Space

CapFriendly lists the Blue Jackets as having 22 of 23 roster spots already filled for next season, including 19 one-way contracts. As a result, it should not be a surprise that their cap space is limited, with CapFriendly projecting just over $7MM to spare. The concern though is that Dubois and Gavrikov – at the very least – will be on the roster and should combine for well over $7MM. And that is not even including any free agent or trade additions for a team that has vowed to be active on the forward market. Fortunately, the team will get a bit of a break in the form of Brandon Dubinsky, who is not healthy enough to play again. Dubinsky’s $5.85MM cap hit will be wiped out, bringing Columbus’ true cap space total to around $13MM. While most of that will still be taken up by RFA signings, it will give the club some more flexibility to change up the roster if they so desire.

Columbus Blue Jackets Eyeing Big Splash This Off-Season

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Last off-season, no team took a bigger hit than the Columbus Blue Jackets. The club lost two of their franchise stars in forward Artemi Panarin and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to free agency, along with expensive rental forwards Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel. Panarin, Bobrovsky, and Duchene were in fact the three largest UFA contracts handed out last summer. No one expected the Blue Jackets to be able to rebound from those losses, but one year later the team knocked out a talented Toronto Maple Leafs team in the qualifying round and gave the Tampa Bay Lightning, one of the NHL’s best, a run for their money in the the first round.

Columbus showed that they still have what it takes to be a contender even with last year’s major losses. The team has discovered not one but two reliable options in net, has one of the top defensive pairs in the league and solid depth behind them, and a mix of youth, experience, skill, and grit up front. If there is one thing that the Blue Jackets still lack, it is what they lost in Panarin and Duchene: elite top-six forwards. While the team has a number of young players who may grow into that role, the club does not appear content to sit in wait, instead hoping to take action this off-season. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline writes that whispers out of the organization is that GM Jarmo Kekalainen is preparing to add at least one if not two high-skill forwards this off-season, with a bona fide top-six center as the priority.

On the surface, this plan makes perfect sense. Portzline notes the Blue Jackets ranked second-to-last in forward scoring this season, which undoubtedly was partially the result of a rash of injuries up front but is still an indictment of the forward corps’ ability to produce. The team also has roughly $68MM committed to 20 players who were regular players this season with just a few restricted free agents to take care of, so there could be cap space to spare on the free agent market.

However, adding impact forwards will be easier said than done. While Columbus has approximately $13.5MM in cap space, should they opt for long-term contracts for budding top-six center Pierre-Luc Dubois and solid young defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, much of that space could be eaten up. On top of that, the team will have to make decisions on re-signing RFA forwards Josh Anderson and Devin Shore as well. If both return, the team will be right up against the cap ceiling without even touching the free agent market. They will also be facing a roster crunch with 17 players already signed to one-way contracts worth $1.6MM or more, including recent KHL import Mikhail Grigorenko but not any of the aforementioned RFA’s.

Even if the team does have space to explore the top names on the open market, they may find that no one fits their top-six center criteria. While the team will surely kick the tires on big names like Taylor Hall, Tyler Toffoli, Mike Hoffman, and Evgenii Dadonov, none of that group is a solution down the middle. The second tier also only offers players that are not necessarily natural centers: Mikael Granlund, Carl Soderberg, or even old friend Derick Brassard. Columbus’ best bet may be to target a younger, more moldable player with some center experience, such as Vladislav Namestnikov, Erik Haula, or Alex Galchenyuk. However, there really isn’t an ideal target to sure up the center position in the top six.

For both internal and external reasons, Kekalainen seems likely to explore the trade market in his efforts to add at least one of his target top-six forwards and most likely at center. Portzline also opines that this is a likely route and that the team could deal from their depth at forward or defense to make a deal. On the blue line in particular, the team will have eight experienced NHL defenseman once Gavrikov is re-signed and will likely have to thin that group. Portzline believes that David Savard would be the easiest to move, while talented but oft-injured Ryan Murray or useful Markus Nutivaara could also draw interest. Up front, the rights to Anderson or Shore could certainly be dealt and the team will likely dangle Alexander Wennberg again this off-season. The real question is whether the team would give up on a top young prospect like Emil Bemstrom, Alexandre Texier, or Liam Foudy. Portzline also believes that teams could come calling on goaltenders Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzlikins, but dealing either one could just create another hole in the lineup.

With plenty of trade chips, the Blue Jackets could cash in on a desperate market. Given both the flat salary cap and the looming threat of the 2021 Expansion Draft, there will likely be many teams open to moving established forwards this off-season and Columbus has a much better chance of finding a true top-six center – and perhaps even another top forward – via trade. One way or another, the club has been inspired by its playoff run and has its sights set on improving immediately, so don’t be surprised to see the Blue Jackets make a big splash this summer.

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