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Dmitry Kulikov

2017 Midseason UFA Power Rankings: 11-20

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With many teams having hit the halfway point of the season and the trade deadline fast approaching, it’s time to take a preliminary look at the UFA Class of 2017.  Here is the first half of our top-20 rankings, based on votes from our writers.

  1. Michael Del Zotto, D, Philadelphia – The first half of his season hasn’t gone particularly well to say the least. He missed 12 games to start the season with a lower body injury and came to a reduced role while even spending a bit of time as a healthy scratch. However, there’s no denying the offensive skill he brings to the table and he will be one of the youngest players on the open market, turning 27 just a week before free agency is slated to open.
  2. Radim Vrbata, RW, Arizona – Vrbata is rebounding nicely after a very tough final season with Vancouver. He’s not the top line threat he was for a brief time but is still a quality secondary scorer…at least with the Coyotes. He’s likely to be dealt before the trade deadline and how he performs with his new team may go a long way towards shaping his market after struggling to land a contract this past offseason.
  3. Vadim Shipachev, C, SKA, KHL – Several teams pursued him last summer but the language in his Russian contract stopped him from crossing the pond at that time. That won’t be the case this coming offseason and Shipachev is having an even better year compared to his 2015-16 campaign. He didn’t have a great World Cup of Hockey tournament but his body of work in the KHL should have several teams looking into him as a second line center this summer.
  4. Trevor Daley, D, Pittsburgh – Things didn’t work out too well for him in Chicago last year but since joining the Penguins partway through last season, Daley has played more like a top four defender. His production is down a bit so far this season which is notable for someone who has a reputation of being a quality point producer from the back end. As an undersized blueliner who isn’t the most reliable in his own end, that drop off has the potential to hurt him quite a bit if it continues the rest of the way.
  5. Michael Stone, D, Arizona – It has not been a great platform year for Stone so far. He missed the start of the year while recovering from offseason knee surgery while also missing time with an upper body injury. His role has diminished slightly this season but young (he’ll be 27 come July) blueliners capable of logging top four minutes in free agency are few and far between.  He’s a strong candidate to be dealt before the deadline which could be the opportunity he’s looking for to have a bounce back second half.
  6. Mike Fisher, C, Nashville – After a tough year in 2015-16, Fisher is putting together a much better season this time around as he already has eclipsed his previous point total in barely half the games. He’s still well above average at the faceoff dot and logs plenty of time on the penalty kill. He’ll turn 37 in June so while he’s producing as a second line center, it will be interesting to see if he’s able to get paid as one whether it’s with the Predators or elsewhere.
  7. Patrick Sharp, RW, Dallas – Concussions have been a major problem for Sharp as two separate trips to injured reserve have cost him 26 games already in the first half. When healthy, he is a consistent top six scoring threat and at the age of 35, he shouldn’t be seeking a long-term deal. Sharp is just getting back into playing shape now and should be in line for a bigger second half of the season which could go a long way towards setting his market in free agency.
  8. Dmitry Kulikov, D, Buffalo – After being dealt to the Sabres at the draft, many hoped that Kulikov would blossom in a new environment and show more of the offensive upside he showed as a junior player. That hasn’t happened yet. He missed 13 games due to back problems and finds himself on the shelf once again with a lower body ailment.  At one point he seemed like a real threat to be one of the top free agent defensemen in this class but Kulikov has only hurt his stock so far.
  9. Jaromir Jagr, RW, Florida – While Jagr is unlikely to crack 60 points like he did last year, he’s still producing as a top six forward despite the fact that he’ll turn 45 next month. His ability to mentor young players has been lauded during his time with the Panthers which could result in him not only receiving interest from contending teams looking for a veteran to help put them over the top but also rebuilding teams who would want Jagr to work with a group of younger players.
  10. Kris Russell, D, Edmonton – Russell had to wait quite a while to get a contract last summer but his play with the Oilers so far should stop that from happening again when the market opens up in July. The numbers don’t jump off the board at anyone but he has really helped to stabilize their back end (while logging over 21 minutes per night) and that should have teams around the league taking notice.

Be sure to check back on Friday for our top ten potential unrestricted free agents.

Injuries And Recalls: December 29

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Injury Updates:

  • 4:20pm: The Kings have activated defenseman Brayden McNabb off IR, Elliott Teaford of the Southern California News Group relays.  He last played on October 29th before suffering a collarbone injury.
  • 1:20pm: The Devils announced that center Jacob Josefson has been activated off of injured reserve.  He had missed the last five games with a concussion and has two assists in 14 games this year.
  • 11:17am: The Lightning announce that rookie forward Brayden Point will miss the next four-to-six weeks with an upper-body injury. Point has 15 points in 36 games so far this season.
  • 10:28am: After leaving last night’s game, Florida Panthers center Sasha Barkov will undergo an MRI. This is according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, who says Barkov’s injury does not appear to be serious at this time. Barkov has been one of the Panthers’ few bright spots in an otherwise difficult year, with 27 points in 36 games. He will not be in the lineup on Thursday night when the Panthers host the Montreal Canadiens.
  • According to Bill Hoppe of the Buffalo Times-Herald, Sabres defenseman Dmitry Kulikov will be out of the lineup on Thursday night. Kulikov aggravated a prior back injury and will be replaced by Cody Franson, who is returning from a mid-to-lower-body injury. Kulikov was one of the Sabres’ bigger additions this past summer, but only has one assist in 20 games, and that came on Tuesday night.
  • Also via Hoppe, Tyler Ennis is once again skating with the team seven weeks after undergoing surgery. His initial timeline was around six weeks. There is no timetable for his return.
  • Oilers winger Iiro Pakarinen is skating, according to Mark Spector. Pakarinen has yet to play a game this season after suffering an ugly knee injury in a pre-season game versus the Kings on October 2. He has 16 points in 80 games over the past two seasons with the Oilers.

Recalls:

  • 5:20pm: The Minnesota Wild announced that they have demoted forward Kurtis Gabriel to the AHL’s Iowa Wild. The 2013 third-round pick recorded his first NHL point while on recall, an assist in an early December win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, but has failed to build on that. He has just the one point in 13 games with Minnesota over the past two seasons. The fourth liner was averaging just under six minutes of ice time so far this season. Not known for his offensive ability, the 23-year-old Gabriel will have to prove in the AHL that he is an NHL-caliber checker to earn another shot.
  • In light of Point’s injury, the Lightning have recalled Erik Condra and Yanni Gourde from Syracuse. Condra has played seven games for the Bolts so far this season, but has been held pointless. He does have 19 points in 21 AHL games. Gourde has just two NHL games under his belt, both last season. He has 26 points in 29 AHL games so far.
  • Columbus has recalled left winger Markus Hannikainen as they look to win their fourteenth straight game. He’s not expected to be in the lineup on Thursday night versus the Jets. Hannikainen has no points in five NHL appearances this season, but has 13 points in 23 AHL games in Cleveland.
  • The Panthers have recalled Michael Sgarbossa to fill Barkov’s roster spot, according to NBC Sports. The Panthers originally acquired Sgarbossa last month from the Ducks. He has 12 points in 14 games for the Panthers’ AHL affiliate.

Injury Updates: Gorges, Kulikov, Hudler, Wild

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Despite being pegged to miss several weeks due to a non-displaced fracture in his foot on Sunday, Sabres defenseman Josh Gorges will suit up for Buffalo tonight, reports Amy Moritz of the Buffalo News.  As a result, the 32 year old will only have missed three games as a result of the fracture.  The stay-at-home blueliner has one assist through 23 games so far this season while averaging 19:27 of ice time per game, his lowest since 2007-08 when he played in Montreal.

That wasn’t the only good news the Sabres received on the injury front as Dmitry Kulikov, who has missed the last 14 games with a back injury, will also return to the lineup.  The 26 year old was one of Buffalo’s key offseason acquisitions after being acquired from Florida at the draft.  Although he was off to a slow start (pointless in 12 games), he’ll instantly give their top four a big boost as someone that can log heavy minutes.

As a result of these two being activated, Moritz notes that Brendan Guhle will return to his junior team (Prince George of the WHL) after being summoned as an emergency recall.  The 19 year old played in three games and certainly held his own, logging over 16 minutes of ice time per night while drawing praise from head coach Dan Bylsma:

“I think there’s significant evidence he showed he could play at this level. At the same time he’s 19-year-old kid. You know there’s going to be some ups and downs in his game over the course of his NHL career but he did a pretty remarkable job stepping into a tough situation, a tough spot and showed he could play and contribute.”

[Related: Sabres Depth Chart]

Other injury notes from around the league:

  • The Stars announced that they have activated right winger Jiri Hudler off IR. He has missed all but four games this season as a result of a lingering illness.  To make room for him on the roster, the team has assigned centre Jason Dickinson to their AHL affiliate in Texas.  Mark Stepneski of Stars Inside Edge also adds via Twitter that defenseman Julius Honka has been placed on IR retroactive to December 6th with an upper body injury.
  • Minnesota defenseman Christian Folin has been cleared to play by team doctors, Michael Russo of the Minnesota Star Tribune notes. He’s expected to take the warmup for tonight’s game against Edmonton; a decision on his playing status will be made at that time.  Folin has played in 19 games for the Wild this season, largely on the third pairing.
  • From that same column, Russo also reports that Zac Dalpe is also skating with the team. He underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in early November and has played in just nine games so far this season, recording three points.  There remains no timetable for his return to the lineup but this is certainly a step in the right direction for Dalpe.

Buffalo Sabres Send Erik Burgdoerfer Back To AHL

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Perhaps the Buffalo Sabres are finally getting healthy. Today they sent back Erik Burgdoerfer to the Rochester Americans after Josh Gorges and Dmitry Kulikov both took part in practice. While it’s not a guarantee that both will suit up tomorrow against the Washington Capitals, it is a good sign that they felt confident enough to send the 27-year old Burgdoerfer back down.

Burgdoerfer (or, Drew Stafford’s long-lost twin depending on who you believe) made his NHL debut on Monday night for the Sabres, playing just over ten minutes. Tuesday’s game two didn’t bring much more, but for an undrafted defenseman who struggled for parts of five seasons in the ECHL before even getting a sniff at the AHL level, it was a dream come true. A big part of the Hershey Bears’ Calder-Cup finals run last season, Burgdoerfer will return to likely play most of the rest of this year with the Americans.

Gorges skating with the team is an unbelievably quick turnaround for a player who as of Saturday was still in a walking boot after suffering a non-displaced fracture of his foot and was originally expected to be out “weeks”. Kulikov’s return may be more important to the team however, as they had expected the 26-year old to be a big part of their blueline after acquiring him from Florida in the offseason. The former 14th-overall pick has played in just 12 games this season, recording no points.

The 2016 All UFA Bust Team

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Last week we presented our 2016 All UFA Bargain team, highlighted by Jonathan Marchessault and Chad Johnson, each of whom has provided results well in excess of any expectations based on the contracts they signed this summer. Of course for every free agent bargain in the NHL there is likely at least one free agent signing that will rate as a bust. Strangely enough, only a handful of UFA blue liners inked multiyear pacts this summer with two of the biggest names, Keith Yandle and Alex Goligoski, traded by their previous employers before agreeing to lucrative deals prior to reaching unrestricted free agency. Subsequently, finding two defensemen who have severely under-performed their new contracts was not as easy as expected.

Without further ado, here is Pro Hockey Rumors 2016 All UFA Bust Team.

Forwards

Andrew Ladd (New York Islanders) – Seven years, $38.5MM: The Islanders, needing to replace the scoring tough of Kyle Okposo, reached a lucrative agreement July 1st with veteran left wing Andrew Ladd. It was expected that in addition to 25-goal, 50-point production, Ladd would also add leadership to a relatively young squad. But Ladd has just five points in 23 contests with his new club and has struggled despite seeing a lot of early-season ice time with John Tavares.

Many were critical of the Ladd contract, primarily due to the seven-year term. Ladd, soon to turn 31, already has nearly 800 regular season games under his belt and likely won’t remain productive into his mid-to-late-30’s. However it was at least expected that Ladd would maintain his 20-goal plus production through the first half of his deal.

Mikkel Boedker (San Jose Sharks) – Four years, $16MM: After falling to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Final last June, the San Jose Sharks decided they needed to add some speed to help keep up against the league’s quicker clubs. Enter Boedker, who had tied his career-high in points, tallying 51 while splitting the 2015-16 campaign between Arizona and Colorado. Boedker was supposed to help allow the Sharks to ice four quality lines with skill and add some more speed to the lineup. Unfortunately the production – two goals and four points – simply doesn’t measure up to the lofty contract he received.

Dale Weise (Philadelphia Flyers) – Four years, $9.4MM: Weise parlayed an excellent platform season – 14 goals, 27 points – into a nice, multiyear deal with the Flyers this summer despite his late-season struggles following a trade from Montreal to Chicago. The physical winger tallied just one assist in 15 games with the Blackhawks down the stretch. Yet the AAV of $2.35MM is in line with Weise’s full-season production in both 2014-15 and 2015-16. The problem is, Weise has just two goals and four points in 22 game so far on the campaign and that’s not nearly enough to justify his contract.

Defense

Dan Hamhuis (Dallas Stars) – Two years, $7.5MM: The Stars pursued Hamhuis at last season’s trade deadline but the veteran defender elected to exercise his NTC to block a proposed deal to Dallas as he didn’t want to uproot his family at that time. After losing Kris Russell, Jason Demers and Alex Goligoski from last year’s blue line, it seemed only natural that the Stars would turn again to Hamhuis for help. The 13-year-vet has long been a steady performer and the two-year term is reasonable, but he has just five points in 24 games and has been a healthy scratch at times this season. Surely the Stars expected a little more from their investment.

Jason Demers (Florida Panthers) – Five years, $22.5MM: It’s not that Demers is having a terrible year as he is on pace for around 10 goals and 29 points. But Florida remade their blue line in the offseason, moving on from tough, physical defenders Erik Gudbranson and Dmitry Kulikov in favor of better puck movers like Demers. To say that plan hasn’t worked out would be an understatement. Defensively the team is allowing 2.44 goals-per-game, exactly the same as last year. However on offense, the team is averaging 0.51 fewer goals per game. Yes, some of that likely has to do with the injuries to Jonathan Huberdeau and Nick Bjugstad, but the bottom line is the season has been a bitter disappointment for the Panthers and Demers shares in some of the responsibility.

Goalie

James Reimer (Florida Panthers) – Five years, $17MM: With Roberto Luongo now 37, and the upcoming expansion draft at least providing the Panthers with the possibility of getting out from under the final five years of his onerous contract, the Panthers elected to buy the best goalie on the free agent market this summer to provide a competent fallback option. After eight starts this season, Reimer has a Save % under 0.900 and a GAA above 3.0. While a $3.4MM AAV may not be on par with most of the league’s starters, it is excellent money for a backup and Reimer is currently not even playing to that modest level.

 

Atlantic Division Transactions/Injuries

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The Buffalo Sabres, already without two of their top defensemen, will now also be without veteran blue liner Josh Gorges for what head coach Dan Bylsma says will be “weeks,” tweets Joe Yerdon of NHL.com. Gorges suffered a non-displaced fracture in his foot and according to Yerdon was seen in a walking boot yesterday.

The Sabres have been without the services of Zach Bogosian and Dmitry Kulikov since early November, weakening a blue line not considered to be particularly deep to begin with. Bogosian has missed a month with a sprained MCL while Kulikov has been out for three weeks due to an undisclosed injury. However, Yerdon reports that Kulikov is now considered day-to-day, suggesting he could return to the lineup relatively soon.

The Sabres are calling Taylor Fedun questionable for tomorrow’s game and if he can’t go, the team will have to call up a defender from Rochester of the AHL. Speculatively, Casey Nelson, who already has made eight appearances for Buffalo  this season, could be the choice if a recall is necessarily.

(Buffalo Depth Cart – courtesy of Roster Resource)

  • The Florida Panthers announced that they have recalled forward Paul Thompson from Springfield of the AHL. Thompson leads Springfield in several offensive categories including: goals (six); assists (nine); points (15); power play goals (three) and; shots on goal (64). He has appeared in 20 contests so far this season for the Thunderbirds. Thompson, 28,  has just three NHL games of experience under his belt, all coming last season with New Jersey, and has yet to record a point. George Richards of the Miami Herald reports that Thompson’s recall was necessitated by an injury to Jonathan Marchessault last night in Ottawa.

Snapshots: Injury Updates, Andrighetto, Tkachuk, Gerbe

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The Buffalo Sabres have had a tough couple days, with Jack Eichel, Kyle Okposo, and Dmitry Kulikov missing the team’s home opener versus the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens beat them soundly 4-1 and Evander Kane left the game with what’s believed to be a rib injury. While Eichel is out long-term with a high ankle sprain, there is some good news for Sabres fans as Okposo and Kulikov both skated this morning with the team. The Sabres have not called up anyone from the AHL yet, as they don’t play until Sunday. They’ll let their farm team open the season with a full roster before plucking some players.

Down in Tampa Bay, rugged right winger Ryan Callahan is taking part in Lightning practice. Callahan has yet to play this season after hip surgery in June. We reported on Thursday that Callahan is expected to return by early November.  Callahan was wearing a full-contact jersey, so he appears to be on track to do so.

Latest On Rasmus Ristolainen

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The Buffalo Sabres have had a roller coaster of an offseason. While the team successfully brought in Kyle Okposo and Dmitry Kulikov to shore up two weaknesses, they’ve also had the headaches caused by Evander Kane’s continuing legal issues, and were spurned by Jimmy Vesey after trading a third-round pick to obtain his negotiating rights. Now, you’d think all their attention would be on re-signing their two remaining restricted free agents, starting with their stud defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.

Rasmus RistolainenNot so fast, as according to Sami Hoffren of Urheilusanomat (a Finnish sports publication) Ristolainen told him he or his camp “haven’t heard anything in a while” from the Buffalo side regarding a new contract and doesn’t expect to sign anything during the World Cup; Ristolainen is competing for Finland in the upcoming tournament.

After being drafted eighth overall in 2013, Ristolainen has shown a steady progression into one of the better right-handed defensemen in the league. With 41 points last season, he led the Buffalo blueline and ranked 23rd in the league among defensemen. Going forward, the 21-year old will be looking for a substantial bump if he’s to sign long-term, as he’s proven his ability at this level over the past two seasons.

Buffalo also has Zemgus Girgensons, another former first round pick who took a step backwards last season left to sign. Girgensons only scored 18 points after two consecutive seasons with at least 22, including a 15 goal output in just 61 games in 2014-15.  Both players should eventually re-sign, but it is getting later and later into the summer without any news.  The Sabres have just over $8MM in cap space currently, more than enough to get both under contract.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: Kulikov, Kampfer, Ceci, Zetterberg

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Former Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov said he was ‘surprised’ that he was dealt to Buffalo at the draft, writes George Richards of the Miami Herald.  Kulikov knew there was a chance he could be moved but hadn’t heard that the Sabres were one of the teams that was interested in him.  Kulikov told Richards that he was excited for the move and also noted that there were times in the past he wanted to be traded:

“I’m excited to change the scenery a little bit, go on to a new team. It felt right for some reason. After being here so many years … There were times I wanted Florida to trade me, then we drafted some good players and the team started to turn around and it was fun, so, at that point, I wanted to stay. But when the trade came, it felt like a good opportunity for me to step up my game.”

Kulikov is entering the final year of a three year, $13MM contract he signed back in the 2014 offseason and will undoubtedly be pushing to improve upon a one goal, 16 assist effort from last year.  He’s likely to start next season in a top four role with the Sabres.

Other tidbits from the Atlantic Division:

  • Also from Richards’ column, Panthers blueliner Steven Kampfer is fully recovered from offseason knee surgery. Kampfer noted he had been playing through pain since December and is now pain free.  Kampfer will likely be in a heated battle for a roster spot at training camp as Florida has nine defensemen that could conceivably make a push for a space on the opening night roster.
  • Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports that talks continue between the Senators and RFA defender Cody Ceci and that they are looking at two and six year deals (Twitter links). Ceci had a career high 10 goals and 26 points in 75 games with Ottawa while averaging 19:18 per game.
  • NHL.com reports that Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg has been named captain of Sweden’s entry into next month’s World Cup of Hockey. It will be Zetterberg’s 13th appearance internationally for his home country.  As their depth chart currently stands, he will likely be in a battle for a middle six spot in Sweden’s lineup.

Panthers Extend Reilly Smith For Five Years

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Clearly the biggest players in free agency this year, the Florida Panthers are close to another move to lock up their young core. Gary Lawless of TSN was first to report that the team was close to an extension with forward Reilly Smith that would pay him $5MM a season for an additional five years.  The team has since confirmed the length of the deal, though not the financial details.

In just the past few weeks, the team has traded for then signed Keith Yandle, dealt away Dmitry Kulikov, given extensions to Aaron Ekblad and Vincent Trocheck, signed free agents Jason Demers and James Reimer, and pretty much owned the hockey world.

Smith, 25, had an excellent season last year with the Panthers, scoring 25 goals and 50 points. The former third round pick has had quite a start to his career, putting up at least 40 points in each of his first three full seasons. The talented young winger came over to Florida in the deal that saw them take on Marc Savard’s cap-hit from the Bruins, one that they recently dealt to New Jersey for some cap relief of their own.

The Panthers have been on quite a clear path lately, trying to push past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1996, the year they lost in the Cup finals to Colorado. After being knocked out by the New York Islanders last season, the team has made clear upgrades to their defensive group, and should have one of the better top pairings in the league with Ekblad and Yandle signed long-term.

Smith is still under contract for next season at a $3.43MM cap hit, meaning that a five-year extension would take him through the 2021-22 season.  Perhaps not coincidentally, that is also when Trocheck and Aleksander Barkov will hit free agency, giving the team a chance to re-tool if they need to at that point.

If the financials are true, it would mean the Panthers have four young forwards under contract long-term for less than $6MM apiece in Barkov, Trocheck, Smith and Nick Bjugstad. All 25 or under, that quartet scored 93 goals last season. Next on the to-do list would be Jonathan Huberdeau, the former third overall pick who put up 20 goals of his own last season.  He’s due $3.25MM next year before becoming an arbitration-eligible RFA next summer.

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